Mohammed Jawad, one of the youngest detainees held at Guantanamo, is on his way home to Afghanistan. Jawad found an unlikely ally in securing his release from Gitmo, the Lt. Col. attorney once assigned to prosecute him, Darrel Vandeveld.
Vandeveld blew the whistle on the injustices of the military commissions "kangaroo court" system after discovering that the government had illegally withheld evidence of Jawad's mistreatment (hooding, shackling, throwing down stairs) from the defense, and from even himself, the prosecutor.
Vandeveld, once lead prosecutor in seven military commissions cases, bravely resigned in protest and has endured a smear campaign courtesy of the Office of Military Commissions. It's not hard to understand why more whistleblowers aren't coming forward to bring to light inappropriate behavior in the flawed military commissions system.
Lt. Col. Vandeveld was tasked with prosecuting teenager Mohammed Jawad in the discredited Bush-era military commissions system when he discovered potentially exculpatory evidence of Jawad's mistreatment hidden in an unrelated trial's evidence file. The evidence had not been disclosed, and appeared to have been illegally withheld from the defense. Vandeveld's discovery led to his hesitation and eventual refusal to prosecute Jawad. He raised concerns about the government hiding exculpatory evidence and mistreating detainees.
The U.S government owed a debt of gratitude to Vandeveld. What it handed him was a forced resignation and public admonishment. Instead of being heralded for his commitment to justice, Vandeveld was summarily discredited. The Pentagon recently told CBS news: "Vandeveld's statements are proven to be unsubstantiated." Vandeveld resigned from his position as a prosecutor in the military commissions system and received a poor evaluation report that will make it nearly impossible for him to continue a military career.
After his resignation, Vandeveld continued his commitment to the rule of law, offering to testify in Jawad's defense, which he was permitted to do over the objections of the Office of Military Commissions But, the Office of Military Commissions still did its part to discredit Vandeveld, circulating talking points claiming Vandeveld was dishonest and ill-informed and ordering Vandeveld to undergo a psychological evaluation, with no prior evidence of psychological distress.
Vandeveld's experience as a whistleblower is all too typical, especially for national security employees, especially with regard to the war on terrorism.
Despite the attacks from his former employer, Vandeveld has courageously maintained Jawad's prosecution was unjust. Vanderveld described his motivations best saying, "Silence in the face of evil is collaboration with evil." Bravo Darrel Vandefeld. With the CIA IG Report on interrogation techniques scheduled for court-ordered release today (finally), we can only hope all the prosecutors at Guantanamo are as willing to come forward in commitment to the rule of law. But, it seems the hope will remain a hope if the result of speaking up is a forced resignation, a public smear campaign, and unwarranted psychological evaluation. We cannot afford to abandon and admonish whistleblowers when, especially in the national security context, they need encouragement to come forward and legal protection when they do.