WASHINGTON — The scene is a makeshift courtroom aboard an aircraft carrier, where the third-ranking leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network, a Saudi citizen in an orange jumpsuit, is on trial for plotting the attacks of Sept. 11.
A respected Navy admiral defends him. A winsome pair of junior officers handle the prosecution. They joust over the finer points of this unusual tribunal, debating whether the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination applies to a foreigner accused of terrorism, whether hearsay evidence is allowed and whether a confession extracted after 13 days of grilling under hot lights and with truth serum can be admitted into evidence.
This is a fictional television drama exploring what a military tribunal, as proposed by President Bush, might look like. Very few people actually know, since the last such tribunal was held more than half a century ago. But this situation, portrayed on an upcoming episode of "JAG," the weekly CBS-TV series, is scripted to depict such tribunals just as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has vowed they would be in real life — "full and fair."
In a striking demonstration of how the Pentagon's image builders take Hollywood just as seriously as they take the news media, if not more so, the show's script writer said he learned details of the intensely debated rules on conducting the controversial tribunals two weeks before Rumsfeld released them at a news conference on March 21.
Because the real tribunals, which have not yet been scheduled, are to be open to newspaper and magazine reporters but not to television cameras, "JAG" is offering the first and perhaps only visual version of the tribunals that millions of people will see.
The Pentagon was eager to oblige, because the military sees what television analysts call "militainment" as one of the most effective ways to get its message across, free of the filters of a critical press corps.
"News used to be the first rough draft of history," said Robert Lichter, president of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-partisan research group in Washington. "Now it's the first draft of a Hollywood screenplay. News and entertainment have merged already. The question now is whose version gets to the public first."
"JAG" has enjoyed a close relationship with the Pentagon for years, often filming on location on Navy ships and using real military equipment as props. With the terrorist attacks, its popularity has soared, to the 10th most popular prime-time show this year from the 28th last year. As such, it has become a significant tool of war-time public policy.
Lichter, the media expert, said he was troubled that people's knowledge of something as important as military tribunals could be established by television entertainment. "Since the Greeks, we know that drama produces emotional catharsis, but that isn't the best instrument for producing justice," he said.