Fighting Terror On the Home Front

The Fifth Amendment guarantees United States Citizens that they will not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Throughout history, the United States has a strong tradition of upholding the Fifth Amendment by granting due process of law to every United States citizen apprehended under suspicion of terrorist activities.

That tradition ended June 9^th, 2002, with the apprehension of Jose Padillia.

After his plane landed in Chicago, police apprehended Padillia on suspicion of planning to detonate a “dirty bomb” in a crowded public area, and took him into custody. Upon hearing about the apprehension, President Bush gave Padillia the status of “enemy combatant” and had him transferred to a military prison.

For twenty-one months, Padillia was denied access to legal council. For more than three years, Padillia sat in prison with no charges against him. During his detention, Padillia’s condition of treatment could be best described as sub-humane.

The fact that Padillia, a United States citizen, was held without any charges filed against him is atrocious. The President’s ability to bypass the Fifth Amendment by merely attaching the label of “enemy combatant” to any detainee gives the President powers that no individual branch, let alone actor, should be endowed with.

More than the alleged threat that Iraq presented the United States with, more than the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, this is the greatest threat presented to the American people. This is the single greatest act of terrorism towards the American way of life. While the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center deprived thousands of Americans of their lives, the assertions of power made by the executive administration maintain a constant threat to the American people.

The actions of the president of the United States are nothing short of tyrannical.

It could be true that Padillia is in fact a threat to the United States, that he was making contact with and receiving training from terrorist cells, and that he planned to detonate a “dirty bomb.” It may be possible that he deserves the type of treatment he is receiving. This is irrelevant. What is relevant is that as an American citizen, he has the right to an attorney, starting from the time he is apprehended. What is relevant is that he has the right to a fair and speedy trial. What is relevant is that only the supreme court should have the right to decide whether Padillia’s imprisonment is constitutional, and thus legal, not the president.

This is not a matter of partisanship. This is a matter of protecting American values. This is a matter of winning the war on terrorism on the home front by not allowing the tactics used by those we fight against to be used by our leaders against us.

This is a matter of demanding the immediate access to a trial and council for any United States citizen detained as an “enemy combatant.”

Something you should read...

This is not a traditional post yet, as I will have more to say later. For now, I would have you read the following New York Times Article:

"Videotape Offers a Window Into a Terror Suspect’s Isolation."

Change the Course

Withdrawal from Iraq is becoming less of a partisan issue and more of a general consensus among politicians. The bipartisan Iraq Study group has recently released a preliminary conclusion of its study which calls for the gradual withdrawal of all United States combatants by 2008, leaving soldiers to train Iraqi military and security forces in order for them to take a more active role in ending secratarian violence.

Noted former secretary of defense Henery Kissinger has declared that the objectives and the definition of victory in Iraq needs to be changed, stating that a military victory in Iraq is no longer possible. As quoted by CNN:

"If you mean by clear military victory an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible."

Even Donald Rumsfeld, recently resigned from his position as Secretary of Defense, sees a need for a change in the President's foreign policy in Iraq. "In my view it is time for a major adjustment," he wrote in a memo to the white house. "Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough." (NYTimes, December 2nd).

It seems as if the only prominent decision maker in foreign policy is the only one who holds the position that "Staying the Course" is a good idea. Unfortunately, he is also the supreme authority in regards to making foreign policy. In response to the Iraq Study group, Bush declared that a strategy concerning exit in Iraq "has no realism to it whatsoever."

Before proposing further comment regarding the issue, it is important to note that Bush aides infered that the President is not completely resistant to change in policy concerning Iraq, saying that there are options that "he's (the President) is very open to."

It is interesting, however, that the President is not considering the advice of those who have extensive credibility regarding foreign policy towards Iraq, especially that of Donald Rumsfeld (who was allegedly asked to resign because his perceived strict advocation of "stay the course"). It seems as if the President has an unrealistic vision he wishes to pursue in Iraq. His rejection of the Iraq Study Groups findings is epecially alarming considering the report has yet to be released.

The president needs to realize that his objectives in Iraq are unrealistic. At minimum, he needs to heed the advice of Rumsfeld and Kissinger that policy change is needed in Iraq. He should carefully consider the consensus reached by the Iraq study group and delay making any prejudgeces in regards to the conclusions reached by the report until he has the opportunity to read the full report.