Phillip Carter

Phillip Carter is an associate in the Los Angeles, California, office of the international law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, where he is a member of the Government Contracts practice group and practices in the area of international law. 

In July 2005, Carter was "mobilized" by the U.S. Army for Operation Iraqi Freedom and "will be on leave from McKenna Long & Aldridge from July 2005 to December 2006." 

Profile
Carter is experienced in "negotiating teaming agreements and subcontracts, and developing proposals for large multiple award contracts like the U.S. Navy's Seaport program. He also counsels clients about socioeconomic policies, such as those relating to small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and regarding compliance with domestic preference statutes and regulations such as the Buy American Act and Berry Amendment. His practice also includes conducting internal investigations and voluntary disclosures to the Department of Defense. In addition, Phillip represents clients in security clearance proceedings before the Department of Defense and various U.S. intelligence agencies." 

Carter "graduated from the UCLA School of Law, where he taught an undergraduate course on law and terrorism. Prior to law school, he served on active duty as a U.S. Army officer. He served as a military police platoon leader with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea and the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. At Fort Hood, Phillip played a key role in the fielding, testing and evaluation of the Army's digital battle command systems." 

Carter "contributes articles on national security issues to Slate, the Washington Monthly, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Legal Affairs and other publications. Recently, he has also been featured as an expert in the New York Times, USA Today, the Boston Globe, and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, the Fox News Channel and National Public Radio." 

Education: J.D., UCLA School of Law, 2004; B.A., UCLA, cum laude, 1997; 1996 Truman Scholar. 

Articles by Phillip Carter

 * "The Seven Basic Myths About Military Justice: Why It’s Much Fairer To Defendants Than You May Have Been Led to Think," FindLaw's Writ, December 18, 2002.
 * "Faux Pax Americana. The lesson from Iraq is that using fewer troops can win a war, but can't keep the peace," The Washington Monthly, June 2003. re Pax Americana
 * "Judicial Deference to Military May Affect Gay Rights, War on Terror," ''FindLaw's Writ (CNN), July 15, 2003.
 * "High Crimes at Guantanamo Bay? Why the Espionage Allegations, If Proved, May Be Serious Enough to Warrant the Death Penalty," FindLaw's Writ, October 8, 2003. re Guantanamo Camp Xray / extraordinary rendition / global detention system
 * "Trying Saddam: Deciding on a court and the charges," FindLaw's Writ (CNN), December 16, 2003. re Saddam Hussein
 * "Hired Guns. What to do about military contractors run amok," Slate, April 9, 2004. re private military contractors
 * "An underwhelming troop presence doomed the mission from the start," Boston Phoenix, April 16-22, 2004.
 * "Be Unprepared. The Iraq War may have crippled the United Kingdom’s capability to send troops abroad -- and hurt us as well," The American Prospect, April 20, 2004. re coalition of the willing
 * "How To Discipline Private Contractors. What consequences do the companies involved in Abu Ghraib face?" Slate, May 4, 2004.
 * "Do the Right Thing. Keeping the ICC out of Abu Ghraib," Slate (GlobalPolicy.org), May 7, 2004. re Abu Ghraib and International Criminal Court
 * "Carter: The 'I followed orders' defense. Likely defense in Abu Ghraib abuse trial," FindLaw's Writ (CNN), August 13, 2004.
 * "Law Schools That Protest Too Much. Universities are kicking military recruiters off campus. What a bad way to fight 'don't ask, don't tell'," Slate (LawSchool.com), August 16, 2004.
 * "Goodbye, Geneva: It's Time to Rewrite the Laws of War," Slate (GlobalPolicy.org), August 24, 2004.
 * "To Fight Another Day. The real reason Guantanamo detainees have returned to the battlefield," Slate, October 25, 2004.
 * "The Road to Abu Ghraib. The biggest scandal of the Bush administration began at the top," The Washington Monthly, November 2004.
 * "Guerrillas in the Mist," The Washington Monthly (Truman National Security Project), November 2004.
 * "Loyal to a Fault? The Senate should hold Alberto Gonzales accountable for his bad legal advice," Slate, November 11, 2004. re Alberto R. Gonzales
 * "How They Count the Enemy Dead. Why's it so hard? Let us count the ways," Slate (GlobalSecurity.org), November 17, 2004.
 * With Owen West, "What the Marine Did. The shooting of an unarmed Iraqi was a tragedy. But was it a war crime?" Slate, November 18, 2004. re war crimes
 * With Owen West, "Iraq 2004 Looks Like Vietnam 1966. Adjusting body counts for medical and military changes," Slate, December 27, 2004. re Iraq Coalition Casualty Statistics
 * "DOJ publishes new torture memo," INTEL DUMP, December 31, 2004.
 * With Paul Glastris, "The Case for the Draft. America can remain the world's superpower. Or it can maintain its current all-volunteer military. It can't do both," The Washington Monthly, March 2005. re draft/stop-loss order
 * "Asking for Trouble. Why the counterterrorism interrogations at Guantánamo Bay have been counterproductive," Legal Affairs, March/April 2005.
 * With Owen West, "Dismissed! We won't solve the military manpower crisis by retaining our worst soldiers," Slate, June 2, 2005.
 * "The Quiet Man," New York Times, July 6, 2005.

Weblogs

 * INTEL DUMP at intel-dump.com
 * INTEL DUMP at philcarter.blogspot.com (moved May 2004 to intel-dump.com)

Contact Information
444 South Flower Street 8th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071-2901 Phone: 213 243-6137 FAX: 213 243-6330 Email: pcarter AT mckennalong.com

Profiles

 * Profile: Phillip Carter, McKenna Long & Aldridge.

Interviews

 * "Slate's War Stories: Volunteering for Duty in Iraq," NPR, October 4, 2005: "Attorney, Slate military affairs writer and Army Capt. Phillip Carter has volunteered for a tour of duty in Iraq. Alex Chadwick speaks to Carter from Las Vegas, where he's spending his last few days in America before joining the 101st Airborne Division."
 * "Training Troops to Police a Volatile Iraq," NPR, February 28, 2006: "U.S. Army Capt. Phillip Carter has been training Iraqi security forces in Iraq. He talks with Alex Chadwick about his day-to-day experiences."

Articles & Commentary

 * Paul, "Back to the (Adjusted) Future," Power Line Blog, December 28, 2004.
 * Paul, "Distortions on top of contortions," Power Line Blog, December 30, 2004.
 * Onnesha Roychoudhuri, "Keeping the Fear Alive," Mother Jones, April 21, 2005: "As Phillip Carter, a lawyer and former army officer, wrote, 'During the run-up to the Iraq war, the Guantanamo issue surfaced repeatedly as a bone of contention for nations opposed to the U.S. war in Iraq and its larger war against terrorism. The issue continues even today to hobble U.S. efforts to win support abroad for its actions against terrorism.'"
 * Greg Jaffe, "Legal Maneuver. To Make a Point, An Army Officer Helps Iraqi Convict. Rule of Law Should Apply To All, Capt. Carter Says; Confessions Won by Cable. 'Grudge' of the 'Fat Woman'?" Wall Street Journal Online, June 13, 2006.