jimservo wrote:
Military tribunals have a long established precedent in American history, going back to before the Republic was even formed. The Supreme Court backed military tribunals passed by congress to try German saboteurs in the Second World War. Tribunals existed in WWI, and the Civil War. There is literally no basis in law to assume that such tribunals are unconstitutional, and no international compact signed by the United States would make it so.
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 does more than set up a military commission. Its provisions violate Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution known as the Suspension Clause:
“The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”
It takes some imagination to think we are in a state of invasion or rebellion.
There is no expiration so the act is open ended.
The Federal Government can declare anyone an “enemy combatant” and imprison them without legal recourse. Prisoners who believe that they have been incorrectly identified as an “enemy combatant” can not challenge their status because their constitutional rights have been stripped.
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There is no reason to suppress a viewpoint unless it is true, because a false viewpoint can easily be combated with facts and logic, while the truth cannot be combated except by lies which are vulnerable to refutation.
22 Mar 2007, 2:51 pm
