Split decision

The end was never really in doubt. Just the details. And it's in the details where things get interesting. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's driver, and the first to face the U.S. military's tribunal was found guilty of five of eight counts of providing material support for terrorism. But the same jury of six military officers found him not guilty on the two conspiracy charges. The results of the trial will keep the debate churning over the tribunal's fairness. The case was conducted under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and, interestingly enough, neither side declared a mistrial despite unclear instructions from the judge to the jury. An appeals process exists, and the defense plans to appeal on the grounds that providing material support may not even constitute a war crime. While the end of this process remains in doubt, what does not is that this marks only it's beginning.