Moving Forward on Commissions

[updated to clarify that there are new regs in the works, not a new manual] Charlie Savage reports this morning that Secretary Gates may soon lift an order that has precluded the initiation of new military commision proceedings since 2009.  Individuals such as Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (described in the 9/11 Commission Report as AQ's key operative in Yemen between 1998 and 2002, and as the orchestrator of the attacks on the USS The Sullivans, the USS Cole, and the French tanker Limburg) may soon be facing trial as a result, though it sounds like we'll also be getting a new manual for [some new regulations for] the commissions and hence there might yet be some further delays (I assume they are not going to lift the order until the manual is close to ready, but who knows).    The Nashiri case in particular raises a number of interesting issues, as Charlie discusses in his report.  I may comment more about them later.  For now, though, I just want to note my hope that the prospect of new cases entering the commission pipeline will provide still further encouragement to the Court of Military Commission Review to produce its merits rulings in the way-too-long-pending cases testing the propriety of charging material support and conspiracy in the commissions (and also putting the question of whether constitutional rights attach in that setting - a question which, in light of the Confrontation Clause, looms large in the Nashiri prosecution).