This is just insanity, but it’s the law. We might as well say it was a grant of US Citizenship!
High Court ruling may delay war crimes trials
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts.
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The court said not only that the detainees have rights under the Constitution, but that the system the administration has put in place to classify them as enemy combatants and review those decisions is inadequate.
The administration had argued first that the detainees have no rights. But it also contended that the classification and review process was a sufficient substitute for the civilian court hearings that the detainees seek.
In dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts criticized his colleagues for striking down what he called “the most generous set of procedural protections ever afforded aliens detained by this country as enemy combatants.”
Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas also dissented.
Scalia said the nation is “at war with radical Islamists” and that the court’s decision “will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.”
Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens joined Kennedy to form the majority.
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Five alleged plotters of the Sept. 11 attacks appeared in a Guantanamo courtroom last week for a hearing before their war crimes trial, which prosecutors hope will start Sept. 15.
Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, said he had no immediate information whether a hearing at Guantanamo for Canadian Omar Khadr, charged with killing a U.S. Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan, would go forward next week as planned.
Bush has said he wants to close the facility once countries can be found to take the prisoners who are there.
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama also support shutting down the prison.
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One of the 5 on trial for 9/11 related crimes is none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, confessed architect of the 9/11 plot. That’s right folks, old KSM and all the rest of the enemies our troops were killed by and fought to apprehend now have rights under the US Constitution 
. Those behind 9/11 now have “rights”. This also means if Osama Bin Laden was captured and at Club Gitmo, he’d have “rights”. I guess now we have an “alleged” enemy, till proven an enemy in a civilian court!
This also means more of your tax dollars will be spent in the new legal red tape terrorists (now “alleged terrorists” given their new rights) will use in exercising their new rights.
update 7/3/2008 6:44PM: Turns out KSM and others who have ALREADY BEEN CHARGED are not part of the Supreme Court ruling. However if someone already charged like KSM loses their case, they could appeal and seek the same rights granted to Gitmo prisoners who have not yet been charged. And any new terrorist captured is covered by the ruling. So capture Osama bin Laden tonight and he’s got rights, yuck!
June 12th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I heard this today and it really made me scratch my head. Our legal system is to be envied world-wide, but why would we extend the Constitutional rights of American citizens to alleged enemy combatants?
God forgive me for saying this, but it makes you wonder why we don’t change our rules of engagement on the battlefield. I mean, why take a chance on a court of law when a terrorist could be dispatched in battle.
Disgusting…and this from a “conservative” court?
SteelGator reply on June 13th, 2008 at 12:22 pm :
Good points but I must correct you. This is not a conservative court yet. One more conservative needs to be added to the Supreme Court. None of the justices that supported this decision can be called conservative. The four conservatives dissented.
June 12th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I need an aspirin and some Imodium AD.
June 13th, 2008 at 8:43 am
MY understanding is that these dangerous people could be released. Am I right? If so this is crazy.
IndependentConservative reply on June 13th, 2008 at 10:17 am :
You know, whatever happens we can only thank God we are covered in Christ. Because these politicians (court judges included) have to fulfill their role in scripture and no matter what happens we are protected eternally. If we are not breathing in flesh, we’re with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:1-8 (New American Standard Bible)
SteelGator reply on June 13th, 2008 at 12:23 pm :
IC: Great point. I am getting so discussed with politics, society etc.
Come Lord Jesus!!
June 13th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
So … everyone was fine with holding these people forever without a trial?
IndependentConservative reply on June 13th, 2008 at 8:12 pm :
Healtheland,
They were already having trials at Gitmo. Some trials already finished and others were coming up and being processed. Military trials as they deserved.