There are those who advocate torture and the elimination of our most cherished American values, the core freedoms that are our true strength, such as habeas corpus. When asked why, all they can seem to do is shout down the questioner. They denigrate our criminal justice system, be many measures the finest in the world (that's not to say perfect), and one of our nation's greatest achievements. "What, you gonna read a terrorist their Miranda rights?"
Um...yes. We read Ramsey Yousef his Miranda rights when we arrested him for the 1st WTS bombing. We tried and convicted him under our criminal justice system. He's now in a supermax prison in CO.
Contrast that with the Gitmo detainees, who now sit in legal limbo because of the questionable Constitutionality of the kangaroo court the is the military commissions system, and whose prosecution cases have been seriously jeopardized because we tortured them.
Such examples piss certain folks off, because they simply have no counter arguments for them. Plenty of implied threats, insults, snuff flicks, standard hippy/pussy/libtard comments, but no realistic policy argument.
I listened to a talk given by a defense attorney for one of the Gitmo detainees today. The government has obstructed his ability to deliver a fair trial for his client using every means at their disposal. For example, everthing about the case is top secret. He could go even to prison for discussing any aspect of the case with his co-counsel, unless he does it in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). There's a SCIF in Seattle used by federal prosecutors. Could these two Seattle based attorneys use it? Nope. They must discuss the case in one of only two allowed facilities: one in VA, one at Gitmo. His attorney/client notes are immediately confiscated after every interview, sealed, and placed in a SCIF; he has not access to them for building a proper case. It takes a week of travel to spend one day at Gitmo with his client. Under the military commission system, the defendent does not have access to the evidence against him. Why? It's top secret. He's a Gitmo detainee: who the hell is he going to tell? Hearsay and evidence gained through torture is admissable. And on and on....
These are the most fundamental aspects of our rule of law and Constitution. This stuff is what we fought a war of independence for. And we want to give them up cuz we got a little scared?
We've proven we can successfully try and punish terrorists many times in the past. We have all the legal and Constitutional means to arrest them anywhere in the world and try them. So, why must be give up our most valued freedoms and values in this manner?
This isn't about the bad guys. It's about us, and if we are who we profess to be. Right now, we're not. We're liars, and the world is our audience. We say we stand for the rule of law, for human rights, for our Constitution, but, when the chips are down, we run from our professed convictions like weaklings.
It's a choice, and it doesn't need to be that way.
