"Correct, sir."

"Even the secretary of defense doesn't think that waterboarding is torture, isn't that correct Sergeant?"

"Objection! Calls for speculation!" Nagel said, sharply.

"Sustained."

"Do you know what dry-boarding is?"

"Yes, sir."

"That is a process of sticking cloths in a person's mouth, then taping their nose and mouth shut, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And it is your contention that Mr. Khury was never dry-boarded?"

"That is correct, sir."

"Sergeant Brown, were you called by Corporal Reeding during the last force-feeding of Mr. Khury?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did Corporal Reeding express to you that there was an emergency?"

"Yes, sir."

"But you don't think there was an emergency, do you Sergeant?"

"No, sir. The detainee coughed up his feeding tube. It happens all the time."

"Yet this was the last time he was force-fed, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Because the next day, he was found dead in his cell, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Immediately after that feeding, Sergeant, you put Mr. Khury in his cell, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"You and Nurse Benson, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Isn't it standard operating procedure for the feeding team to take the detainee back to his cell?"

"Yes, sir."

"So you broke procedure?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you broke procedure because the situation called for different handling, isn't that true?"

"Yes, sir."

"And again, Sergeant Brown, Mr. Khury was found hanging from the wire mesh ceiling in his cell, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"A ceiling that is eight feet high?"

"Yes, sir."

"Nobody else saw you and Nurse Benson take Mr. Khury back to his cell, correct?"

"That is correct, sir."

Brent was at a crossroads. He knew that Brown would never admit what really happened, but he needed a thread of the truth to come out. For that, Brown needed to be agitated, off his game. Whether he slipped or not, it didn't matter. The jury would hear where Brent was going and would draw their own conclusions.

"And isn't it also correct, Sergeant Brown that Mr. Khury was dead when you brought him back to his cell?"

"No, sir!" said Brown, raising his voice.

"You don't have to scream Sergeant, we can hear you."

"Objection, argumentative," barked Nagel.

"Sustained."

Isn't it true that, after you took Mr. Khury's lifeless body to his cell, you strung him up with a regular orange jumpsuit to make it look like he had hanged himself?"

"That is not true, sir. I did no such thing!"

"Showing you what has been marked as Exhibit 31, Sergeant, is this the jumpsuit that Mr. Khury was found dead in?" Brown glanced at the tag, and then averted his eyes.

"It appears to be, sir."

"Would it surprise you, Sergeant that this jumpsuit is not one that cannot be tied or torn?"

"No, sir."

"Mr. Khury had talked about suicide, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And every detainee who was suicidal was given a special jumpsuit that could not be torn or tied into a noose, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your honor, I submit as Exhibit 32, a report by the United States Navy Investigative Criminal Investigation Service, and I quote, "the detainee's jumpsuit was tested and identified as a standard issue orange jumpsuit. Move to admit Exhibit 32 into evidence, Your Honor.

"No objection? It is received."

"In fact, that was standard operating procedure in the case of a suicide threat to give every suicidal detainee a special jumpsuit, isn't that correct Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir. But Khury was not considered a suicide threat."

"No further questions at this time, Your Honor."

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE.

In order to rehabilitate Brown and lessen the negative blow of his testimony, Nagel took him through his duties at Gitmo, their humane treatment of detainees, the anti-torture policy (under their definition of torture), and his contacts with Ahmed.

"Did Mr. Khury ever express a desire to kill himself?"

"Yes, sir."

"How many times?"

"Several times, sir."

"And yet he was never placed on suicide watch, isn't that correct?"

"No, sir. He was evaluated and found not to be suicidal."

"Evaluated by whom?"

"The Naval psychiatrist, sir."

"So, you took the precaution of having him evaluated, yet he still hung himself?"

"Objection! Assumes facts not in evidence."

"Sustained. The jury will disregard the question. Mr. Nagel, please continue."

"Sergeant Brown, after his suicide evaluation, did you, nevertheless, take any precautions to guarantee Mr. Khury's safety?"

"Yes, sir."

"What precautions?"

"The guards looked inside his cell approximately every one to three minutes to make sure he was okay."

"And how long did this procedure continue?"

"Until he was found dead, sir."

Corporal Brian Reeding took the stand, in his crisp dress uniform, looking very cool and collected. He was Brent's best adverse witness, and Brent was counting on him filling in the blanks for the jury that had been left hanging from Sergeant Brown's testimony. Brent took Reeding through a series of questions establishing his role at Guantanamo, and his position as head of the feeding team.

"Corporal Reeding, you made an emergency call to Sergeant Brown during Mr. Khury's last feeding, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir. I was new on the job and panicked when he coughed up his feeding tube."

Brent felt like he had been hit right between the eyes with a hammer. Reeding had changed his testimony, but not so much so that it conflicted with his deposition testimony.

"Corporal Reeding, you understand that you are under oath, don't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"And that oath is just as serious and binding upon you as the oath you took when you joined the Army, do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Corporal, you testified in your deposition that you called Sergeant Brown because Mr. Khury was complaining that the feeding tube was hurting him and he subsequently coughed up the tube, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you thought that he may be in danger, correct?"

"Yes, sir, but I was wrong."

"Move to strike after 'yes, sir.'"

"Denied."

"When you called Sergeant Brown, he cleared the room, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"By clearing the room, he instructed everyone but Nurse Benson to leave, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Corporal, you thought Mr. Khury was in serious danger, isn't that correct?"

"I guess I overreacted."