Is the Military Commissions Act as bad as it sounds?

[Lone_Gunman]

I will freely admit I didnt even know this law was coming until Bush had already signed it into law. In fact, I wasn't exactly sure what habeas corpus even was until today. If you don't know, you need to read about it. In a nutshell, habeas corpus allows for a court review to see if your imprisonment is legal.

As I understand it, it suspends habeas corpus rights if you are deemed an enemy combatant, which could basically be anybody the government says. If you support an organization that the government says is tied to terror, you would qualify, and could have your habeas rights suspended. This means you could be imprisoned indefinitely without reason, doesn't it?

The Constitution says Habea corpus can only be suspended in times of rebellion and invasion. How can this law possibly be constitutional?

 

[Sistema1927]

One man's gun rights defender is another man's terrorist.

One man's Constitutionalist is another man's terrorist.

One man's outspoken advocate is another man's terrorist.

Get the picture?

 

[El Tejon]

May 1, 2011: "Today President Clinton announced that she has declared the National Rifle Association and the Gun Owners of America terrorist organizations. All members are to be arrrested and detained for questioning, in the name of the children."



Any law that can be abused will be abused.

 

[STAGE 2]

I said it before and I'll say it again. Anyone who tells you that this law is trodding on our rights either hasn't read the law or is being dishonest. All of the articles that you have read with the title in huge font that say, "HABEAS HAS BEEN SUSPENDED" are false as well.

All this bill does is suspend habeas for ALIEN... let me say it again, ALIEN enemy combatants. It has ZERO effect on or application to american citizens.

Alien enemy combatants were traditionally were never allowed habeas rights until the aclu decided to start messing with things. All this act does is restore close to 100 years of precedent.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Stage 2, that is not how I read the act.

I think it can apply to US citizens, and several experts would seem to agree.

An unlawful enemy combatant is defined as:

"`(i) a person who has engaged in hostilities or who has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its co-belligerents who is not a lawful enemy combatant (including a person who is part of the Taliban, al Qaeda, or associated forces); or

`(ii) a person who, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the President or the Secretary of Defense."

Note this does not make exception for US Citizens! If you can find text in the Act that says US Citizens are exempt, please let me know.

This law is yet another reason to vote Republicans out of office in November.

 

[DKSuddeth]

All this bill does is suspend habeas for ALIEN... let me say it again, ALIEN enemy combatants. It has ZERO effect on or application to american citizens.

Alien enemy combatants were traditionally were never allowed habeas rights until the aclu decided to start messing with things. All this act does is restore close to 100 years of precedent.

Not sure how you come to that conclusion since the USSC decided, unanimously, in Yick Wo v. Hopkins that ANY individual, citizen or alien, had the same legal guarantees, including habeas corpus. Plessy v. Ferguson came later which was contradictory in that it allowed discrimination against a certain group of individuals, but since then Yick Wo v. Hopkins has been cited in over 150 different USSC cases.

 

[Gunfire]

So it only strips habeus corpus of "Non US foreign nationals". Correct? Do you know if a US citizen was on vacation and was accused of terrorism in Britain, Germany or any european country or any other democratic nation anywhere else, Japan, australia, would they be stripped of their habeus corpus rights and to be heard by a civilian judge? which country?

Isn't this a bad precedent to start worldwide? Military tribunals for foreign nationals with no appeals to any non military personel? Sounds like the ex-dictator saddam hussiens court setup.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Dup Topic.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=228834