Assistant Attorney General: “Terrorists Have Constitutional Rights”
There has been an ongoing argument as to whether or not detainees held at GITMO have constitutional rights, as ludicrous as that idea is and as ridiculous as it is that we actually have to have this argument there is another issue that is even more concerningthan this on the issue of terrorism. It is the precedent that is being set by granting GITMO detainees constitutional rights and it is a perfect illustration of the mindset of this administration. It is what the administration plans to do moving forward with regards to those caught on the battlefield that I am concerned about.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that all of the prisoners at GITMO will probably be afforded constitutional rights the assistant attorney general is saying that all terrorists that are caught on the battlefield fighting against out troops have constitutionalrights. We can argue all day long about whether all of the detainees being held at GITMO are enemy combatants but those that were actually caught fighting against America and those that are caught in the future fighting against the United States should NEVER have the same rights as the troops who are trying to protect the constitution.
Here is part of the exchange between John McCain and David Kris:
“What are those constitutional rights of people who are not citizens of the United States of America, who were captured on a battlefield committing acts of war against the United States?” McCain asked.
“Our analysis, Senator, is that the due process clause applies to military commissions and imposes a constitutional floor on the procedures that the government sets on such commissions …” Kris said.“So you are saying that these people who are at Guantanamo, who were part of 9/11, who committed acts of war against the United States, have constitutional rights under the Constitution of the United States of America?” McCain asked.
“Within the framework I just described, the answer is yes, the due process clause guarantees and imposes some requirements on the conduct of (military) commissions,” Kris said.
“The fact is they are entitled to protections under the Geneva Convention, which apply to the rules of war,” McCain said. “I do not know of a time in American history where enemy combatants were given rights under the United States Constitution.”
The way that I see it, moving forward, all of the people who are caught on the battlefield waging war against the United States will have rights under the United States constitution. This is incredible.
Joe Lieberman is not impressed:
“Why would anyone prefer to try people apprehended for violations of the law of war?” Lieberman asked. “The fact is that from the beginning of our country, from the Revolutionary War, we’ve used military tribunals to try war criminals, or people we have apprehended, captured for violations of the law of war.
“Again, I think the unique circumstances of this war on terrorists, against the people who attacked us on 9/11, have taken us down, including the Supreme Court, some roads that are not only to me ultimately unjust but inconsistent with the long history of military commissions,” Lieberman said
What is the administration’s excuse for trying enemy combatants in civilian courts?
“When you’re dealing with terrorists whose, and I’m going to say this on behalf of the administration, one of their fundamental aims is to kill innocent civilians, and so it is the administration’s view that direct violence on innocent civilians, let’s say in the continental United States, it might be appropriate that that person be brought to justice in a civilian public forum in the continental United States,” Johnson said.
Because the goal of the terrorists is to kill civilians they should be tried in civilian courts. Isn’t that just brilliant?
I think that is it safe to say that this shows us what President Obama’s policies are going to be with all terrorists and enemies caught in the future, and I find it incredibly disturbing that anyone would think that those who are fighting against our country deserve the rights that the citizens of the country they are fighting against enjoy.
America's Watchtower 
OK, let me explain how this works. If we capture people who are fighting a war against us, then they are prisoners of war and receive Geneva Convention protections, as Sen. McCain describes. If, as the past and current administration has argued, that these are enemy combatants, then they fall under the category of international criminal. If we try them as criminals, they have Constitutional protections under our system of law. So, either they are POW and have the Geneva Convention or they are enemy combatants and have the Constitution. We are a nation governed by laws, and we can’t abandon that just because some people are scared about the terrorists.
On broader level, I would like to cite the Declaration of Independence, in which Thomas Jefferson wrote that we believe “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights … .” So, as Americans, we need to philosophically take the same approach and assume that even enemy combatant have unalienable rights. So stop being scared. Have the guts to give the Constitution the respect it deserves.
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I agree completely!
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It seems that these days all you need is a pro-second amendment bumper sticker on your car to be declared a terrorist. Then you can be hauled away and tortured.
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The “due process” clause in the 14th amendment has been used for years by liberal groups to advance their causes. No matter that the 14th Amendment itself is somewhat questionable in that it was passed and ratified by some states that were under military occupation in the years immediately following the War Between the States. The state governments in these southern states were controlled by the military and civilians from outside those individual states. I realize that the issue of the 14th amendment has been settled, but the continuing expansion of the due process clause is worrying.
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I agree whole heartledly.
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