Michael Mori

Defending our Enemy

Defending our Enemy was the task assigned to U.S. Marine Corps Major Michael D. Mori in the summer of 2003. Major Mori would be the first defense lawyer to step inside the infamous detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, assigned to represent “the worst of the worst”.

In the wake of the Attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States cried out for blood and the gloves came off. In November 2001, President Bush issued a Presidential Military Order to convene military commissions for the first time since World War II to try the terrorists responsible for the attacks. It would be over 2 years before any trial would see the inside of a courtroom. Even in 2018, the military commissions struggle to bring justice for the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Expecting to meet a client involved in the 9/11 attacks, Major Mori was assigned to represent an Australian Citizen who had been branded Detainee 002. A firm believer in the importance of due process, Mori grew increasingly alarmed by how the military and the US governments were incompetently handling the detainees’ cases.

What followed was a long struggle for justice and one Marine’s gradual disillusionment with the military commissions and the leadership who attempted to circumvent the legal process. This case would be fought from Kosovo to the mountains of Afghanistan, and inside of the courtrooms of the U.S., Britain, and Australia, and ultimately in the political arena.

A compelling and sobering account of a western democratic government losing its head and sacrificing principles in the cause of national security.' Australian Financial Review

'Informative and thought provoking.' Law Institute Journal