While in the Marine Corps , he served as the first acting chief prosecutor of the office of military commissions and developed policies and processes for the tribunals envisioned to try those who planned the September 11 attacks in 2001 . The military commission regulatory structure Lietzau crafted was adopted , in major part , by the various military commission laws that guide the conduct of commissions in the present day . In March 2014 , Lietzau published an Oped in the Wall Street Journal explaining his long-held positions on U.S. detention policy and the way to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay . Lietzau also served in a variety of traditional roles as a Marine lawyer , including as prosecutor , defense counsel , military judge , special assistant U.S. attorney , staff attorney , Chief of the Law of War Branch for the Department of the Navy 's International Law Division , and chief of government appellate attorneys for the Department of the Navy
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
William K. Lietzau