Overplaying Its Hand

Everytime I read articles about GITMO or "illegal combatant" status I can't help but think of two of our close allies, United Kingdom and Spain, that have had attacks on their homeland. Somehow they've been able to haul the perps in front of a regular court, try them and imprison them when found guilty. All without a special status or prison in another country. Why is it that we couldn't have done this in the same way?

Due Process, Due Process, Due Process: That's the mantra that needs to stand the test of Conservatives, Neo-Cons, idiots and anyone else that thinks we have the right to hold someone indefinitely. The notion is ridiculous. If these guys are so horrible and have done horrible things then the government should have the goods on them to send them to prison: Period. Of course at this point the Bush hard-liners (read: idiots) have just created 270 very, very upset pseudo-terrorists that will go home and become the terrorists they always wished for. So, why don't we just do the Cheney thing and put a bullet thru their heads and call it a day. The GOP has created a self-fulfilling prophecy with their irresponsible actions and now Obama has to clean it up along with all the other crap they created.

Reading this, I find myself, a little puzzled. We live in a country, that allows the law to force us to wear seat belts.
We live in a country where police forces can come to your home, on the basis of an anonymous phone call and examine your children.
We live in a country that allows the law, to force us to move from our homes, if deemed necessary.
We live in a country, where police forces are allowed to set up roadblocks and examine our documentation, where no probable cause exists.
The reasoning is the same, the state has an overiding interest.
The state, has an overriding interest? I'm so silly, that, I thought the state, existed, for my benefit.
I'm, also,so silly, that, I think, the state, has an overriding interest, in holding these people as long as is necessary, in their judgement

It all revolves around the question of defining a POW. Congress should define the subjects at Gitmo as POWs or as qulaifying for POW status and that would remove them from the jurisdiction of the US Courts. The Supreme Court could only put its 2# in because the subjects were in a gray area.

It is right to say,
apex court was forced by repeatedly denying ,in providing basic legal rights
to the detainees.


Now the law of the land proceed with.

I hope,
Gitmo detaineed would get justice.

The Constiitution is who we are as a nation, both to ourselves and to the world at large. If we allow protections as old as that -- even oldler, going back to the Magna Carta -- to be abrogated, who are we? Are we any better than Pol Pot, Mobutu or other dictatorships?

bush and cheney should simply be impeached .. and perhaps even tried for treason ... enough said..

Neither Bush nor Cheney are lawyers and the lawyers around t hem are either bootlickers or graduates of a law school that teaches Christian Dominionism as part of the curriculum. Are we expecting these people to have respect for the Constitution? I don't think so. It is going to be the next Administration's job, led by a man who has taught law for years, to clean out the stables. It is nice that fivie out of nine justices thought the document had some life left in it and horrific that four did not. We need a new look at what is permitted and a new instistance on making sure the boundaries are not crossed.

The prison at Gitmo has to be closed down and the prisoners borught to the US for trial. Not Inquisiton type trial but American style of trial. The 1993 World Trade Center bombers are tucked securely inito prison after all the safeguards the system afforded them. It has worked for over 200 years and habeas corpus has worked for over 700. Bush decided it was moot. Now we have to decide that this kind of thinking is stopped cold.

rastuso3, I don't think that you might have caught the gist of the U.S. Constitution. It is a mistake that many people make, thinking that only U.S. Citizens benefit from the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments. The language of the constitution says that Congress cannot pass a law infringing the protected rights. That means that whoever comes under the jurisdiction of our countries courts is protected by our constitution. This is why the administration was so desperate to find a place that they thought might let them abuse human rights. The court rightfully indicated that they are full of crap. Hope this helps.

It's a great pity that the criminals like george w. bush, that dick, cheney, rummy, wolfowitz, rice etc.etc. won't subject themselves to that non-torture called waterboarding. These people belong in jail. That moron President bush is quite shameless. In Europe he is still embarassing this country with the nonsense he spews. All these people need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Many analysts believe the dollar???s protracted decline is a major factor behind oil???s doubling in price over the past year.

Too bad the Bush Administration was so pre occupied with war games to pay attention to our real threat!

The fact is many detainees were innocent of any crime. Already a documetary out about one such detainee. I don't care who you are or what you did. Every person detained by this country (USA) should have the right to see evidence or accussers against them. That is what the foundation of our laws are based on. The fact that McCai and Obama wil closeown Gitmo speaks volumes. Oh and BTW Justice Scalia is a pr_ck. I may not agree with the conservatives on high court but I have no respect for Scalia . This guy helped decide the 2000 election and he goes duck hunting with Dick Cheny.