S.C. attorney assisting Military Commissions prosecuting alleged 9/11 terrorists
June 11, 2012
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
June 11, 2012
CAMDEN, SC – Col. Thomas S. Mullikin – a Camden-based environmentalattorney and deputy commander of the S.C. State Guard – has beenappointed special assistant to the chief prosecutor in the case of the alleged 9/11 terrorists.
Mullikin was appointed by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins, the chiefprosecutor with the Military Commissions (the military tribunal tasked with trying alleged terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other alleged war criminals who purportedly planned and executed the9/11 terrorist attacks).
Gen. Martins – (in addition to being a senior U.S. Army lawyer) an Army Ranger and widely considered a special-operations expert – is a greatsoldier and one of the brightest legal minds of our generation, saysMullikin, who in the 1990’s served with Martins as a U.S. Army Reserve(USAR) Judge Advocate General’s Corps officer when Martins held the post of deputy staff judge advocate for the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps.
Gen. Martins will ensure a zealous but fair prosecution of KhalidSheikh Mohammed, says Mullikin. Moreover, he will ensure a properAmerican legacy and conclusion to the terrorist acts of 9/11 that killed nearly 3,000 innocent Americans.
The Military Commissions (reformed military tribunals) are designedto deal effectively, independently, and fairly with the law of warviolations to ensure a just trial. Military Commissions are comparableto federal criminal justice system courts in their prosecution of warcriminals. They incorporate the fundamental guarantees of a fair andjust trial including both the presumption of innocence and that guiltmust be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mullikin – founder and pres. of the Mullikin Law Firm and Global EcoAdventures, an international organization also based in Camden – wasrecently named deputy commander of the all-volunteer S.C. State Guard.The S.C. State Guard is the state defense force component of the S.C.Military Dept. (SCMD). The SCMD includes the S.C. Army National Guard,the S.C. Air National Guard, the State Guard, the Emergency ManagementDivision and other elements.
Mullikin’s service in both the S.C. State Guard and as a SpecialAssistant to Gen. Martins is an extension of his years of distinguishedmilitary service; first as a U.S. Army JAG lawyer (USAR) and attached as an international legal officer to a civil affairs brigade, followed by a stint with the S.C. Military Dept.’s Joint Services Det. (JSD). Hisdecorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army AchievementMedal, and the Global War on Terror Service Medal.
– W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader andcounterterrorism instructor who writes about military/defense issues and has covered war in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He directs theU.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team. He is a field-grade officer in theS.C. Military Dept. He is the author of six books, a New York Timesbestselling editor, and his articles appear in a variety ofpublications. Smith’s website is uswriter.com.
