Through the spurious authority granted by the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the president (or Secretary of Defense) has the ability to label (through an appointed tribunal) any person an “unlawful enemy combatant.” As such, that person can then be indefinitely held without charges until such time as the government (specifically the executive branch) sees fit to abrogate the action against that person or level charges and prosecute via a military tribunal. Extrapolating this to it’s ultimate conclusion places U.S. citizens on dangerous ground. You think not?
Remember the case of Jose Pedilla, a natural born U.S. citizen (Brooklyn, NY) who was held without charges for more than 3-1/2 years as an “enemy combatant?” Like him or not, guilty or not, the treatment of Padilla was unconstitutional. Though he was originally suspected of plotting a “dirty bomb,” those charges were later dropped and he was ultimately convicted in civilian court for conspiracy. If it had not been for civil rights groups coming to his defense, Padilla might ultimately been held indefinitely or imprisoned by order of a military tribunal. Granted, Pedilla seems like one sorry criminal and he probably deserved what he had coming but that’s not the point. The ideal of no citizen being deprived of life and liberty without due process of law is clearly expounded in the Constitution (writs of habeas corpus being specifically mentioned) as to guarantee the federal government will not run rough shod over the people. Writing bad law in an attempt to bypass the spirit and intent of Constitutional protections doesn’t make for “due process,” it makes for tyranny.
The Constitution enumerates only two provisions by which habeas corpus may be suspended; they are rebellion and invasion. Two presidents have suspended habeas corpus; Lincoln and Bush. Lincoln had a far greater justification for his action than Bush. Lincoln was in a desperate struggle to preserve the union and his action of suspending habeas corpus was precipitated by the Civil War. His actions were also directed against a large, defined opponent, the Confederacy, not against a person, or persons labeled by him as an “enemy combatant.” You can argue that Lincoln had a true “rebellion” on his hands (though I’m sure there are many who would disagree) as well as an invasion (the South made incursions into northern territory) by a uniformed foreign force. Bush had neither, his actions seem to be more insidious and seriously strain the intent of the Constitution.
I’m sure at some point, it’s been argued the events of 9/11 were an invasion but those arguments, for what should be obvious reasons, would be feeble at best. But holding a citizen of the U.S. without due process isn’t as bad as it gets. Far more heinous than the suspension (for individual citizens of the U.S.) of habeas corpus, warrantless wire tapping, military tribunals and the dissolution of Constitutional protection at the whim of the executive branch, is the recently revealed knowledge that the U.S. has been engaging in the assassination of U.S. citizens overseas.
That’s one worse than the Pedilla case. That is the president acting as law enforcement (which he is), prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner all in one. To label U.S. citizens as “illegal enemy combatants,” decide they have no Constitutional rights, pass judgement on them and execute them is more than just a theoretical violation of Constitutional law, it is the beginning of dictatorship. It’s understandable that while conducting operations against a known enemy target, a U.S. citizen engaging in treason might be inadvertently killed, it’s another to put that citizen on a “hit list” for termination. It’s a high crime which Bush initiated and which Obama is continuing. It needs to be exposed for what it is, a treasonous assault on our Constitutionally guaranteed, God given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
In Germany with the rise of Hitler to power and the subsequent annihilation of enemies of the state, Martin Niemöllerseeing the abominations which had been committed and recanting his approval during imprisonment, crafted this tragic poem:
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
There are those who defended Bush for his trouncing of the constitution because they agreed with his ideology. Those same people now decry Obama’s continuation of the same injustices. Then again there are those who vehemently opposed any action by Bush to perpetrate the “war on terror” who now would defend Obama to their dying breath.
It’s time to wake up America and defend the Constitution and our freedom. If a U.S. citizen is guilty of treason for aiding and abetting the enemy, there are Constitutionally affirmed laws to provide for the prosecution of such an offense. We should not allow our executive branch of government to have the authority to use deadly force against the people. The circumvention of the Constitution by the the president to empower himself with the “right” to detain and/or kill the citizens of this nation on his own authority is an abomination and will eventually result in evil on a horrific scale.
And here’s a final “food for thought” question:
If your saying to yourself, “those citizens are overseas and are known terrorist sympathizers (participants) so it’s not a big deal,” what’s to say any “liberty” organization operating within the borders of the United States might not also be labeled enemy combatants at some point in time? Far fetched? Consider Martin Niemoeller’s lament.
U.S. Citizens on Government Hit List
Uncle Sam Might Come Gunning For You!!
One of the most deleterious acts President George W. Bush committed in his presidency was the suspension of writs of habeas corpus during the commission of his “war on terror.” Now the Obama administration is perpetuating this offense
Through the spurious authority granted by the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the president (or Secretary of Defense) has the ability to label (through an appointed tribunal) any person an “unlawful enemy combatant.” As such, that person can then be indefinitely held without charges until such time as the government (specifically the executive branch) sees fit to abrogate the action against that person or level charges and prosecute via a military tribunal. Extrapolating this to it’s ultimate conclusion places U.S. citizens on dangerous ground. You think not?
Remember the case of Jose Pedilla, a natural born U.S. citizen (Brooklyn, NY) who was held without charges for more than 3-1/2 years as an “enemy combatant?” Like him or not, guilty or not, the treatment of Padilla was unconstitutional. Though he was originally suspected of plotting a “dirty bomb,” those charges were later dropped and he was ultimately convicted in civilian court for conspiracy. If it had not been for civil rights groups coming to his defense, Padilla might ultimately been held indefinitely or imprisoned by order of a military tribunal. Granted, Pedilla seems like one sorry criminal and he probably deserved what he had coming but that’s not the point. The ideal of no citizen being deprived of life and liberty without due process of law is clearly expounded in the Constitution (writs of habeas corpus being specifically mentioned) as to guarantee the federal government will not run rough shod over the people. Writing bad law in an attempt to bypass the spirit and intent of Constitutional protections doesn’t make for “due process,” it makes for tyranny.
The Constitution enumerates only two provisions by which habeas corpus may be suspended; they are rebellion and invasion. Two presidents have suspended habeas corpus; Lincoln and Bush. Lincoln had a far greater justification for his action than Bush. Lincoln was in a desperate struggle to preserve the union and his action of suspending habeas corpus was precipitated by the Civil War. His actions were also directed against a large, defined opponent, the Confederacy, not against a person, or persons labeled by him as an “enemy combatant.” You can argue that Lincoln had a true “rebellion” on his hands (though I’m sure there are many who would disagree) as well as an invasion (the South made incursions into northern territory) by a uniformed foreign force. Bush had neither, his actions seem to be more insidious and seriously strain the intent of the Constitution.
I’m sure at some point, it’s been argued the events of 9/11 were an invasion but those arguments, for what should be obvious reasons, would be feeble at best. But holding a citizen of the U.S. without due process isn’t as bad as it gets. Far more heinous than the suspension (for individual citizens of the U.S.) of habeas corpus, warrantless wire tapping, military tribunals and the dissolution of Constitutional protection at the whim of the executive branch, is the recently revealed knowledge that the U.S. has been engaging in the assassination of U.S. citizens overseas.
That’s one worse than the Pedilla case. That is the president acting as law enforcement (which he is), prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner all in one. To label U.S. citizens as “illegal enemy combatants,” decide they have no Constitutional rights, pass judgement on them and execute them is more than just a theoretical violation of Constitutional law, it is the beginning of dictatorship. It’s understandable that while conducting operations against a known enemy target, a U.S. citizen engaging in treason might be inadvertently killed, it’s another to put that citizen on a “hit list” for termination. It’s a high crime which Bush initiated and which Obama is continuing. It needs to be exposed for what it is, a treasonous assault on our Constitutionally guaranteed, God given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
In Germany with the rise of Hitler to power and the subsequent annihilation of enemies of the state, Martin Niemöller seeing the abominations which had been committed and recanting his approval during imprisonment, crafted this tragic poem: