It shouldn't have been such a difficult issue. After all, defendants on trial for mass murder in a death penalty case often aren't happy with how things are going. That may include being disappointed with their lawyers. But that's in federal court. The military commissions are different.

President Obama has been saying for the past eight years that he wants to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Although Congress hasn't made it easy, his insistence on continuing to prosecute these cases in the military commissions only undermines the credibility of his convictions.

If we're to accept George Santayana's dictum that those who forget the past are "condemned to repeat it," the U.S. should be extremely cautious about who we're arming and the deadly long-term effects that could easily blowback to the American homeland.

An Army judge at Guantanamo Bay on Thursday refused to allow one of the five defendants charged with orchestrating the 9/11 attacks to dismiss his lead lawyer, ruling the accused hadn't shown the necessary "good cause" to do so.

The hearing ensued in confusion, as the attorneys and judge argued over what the law is, who's required to explain it to the defendant and how bin Attash can inform the judge why he wants a new lawyer. Underlying the entire discussion was a sense that no one in the room knows all the relevant facts.

It's been an action packed week in Guantanamo's court, said a leading defense lawyer today without irony - even though there have only been a total of about five hours of public sessions this whole week in the case of the September 11 attacks, which took place 14 years ago.