Up periscope 81

DOD reports General Amos to be the new Commandant of the Marine Corps:

In the biggest headline-making comments during the hearing, Amos told questioning lawmakers he personally opposes repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that prohibits gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. He vowed, however, to ensure that whatever is decided regarding the law, he would ensure that it is enforced.

Huffington Post talks about private contractors in the AOR.

Today we look at is another law journal article. It is noteworthy not only for its content and recommendation, but also for its author. The article is “No More Nisour Squares: Legal Control of Private Security Contractors in Iraq and After,”published last year in the Oregon Law Review (Vol. 88, No. 3) . The author is Charles Tiefer. In addition to being a professor at the University of Baltimore Law School he is also a commissioner on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. As you would expect he accepts that the use of private security contractors is here to stay. He is also concerned with “how to control the abuses and injuries of private security contractors” so we do not have more Nisour Squares, when Blackwater guards, some of whom claim they faced a threat, opened fire on civilians, killing seventeen Iraqis.

SCOTUSBlog has a piece on the status of Michigan v. Bryant. We are fortunate that we have so few (despite the media attention) murders in the military. Because of that the issue of a dying declaration and its treatment under the Confrontation Clause is rare for military lawyers. But the case is worth following to see how the current court deals with Crawford issues, in light of Bullcoming and Blazier.