Protecting Liberty
It is obvious that most of us aren’t familiar with the all the details about the Ali Al-Marri, It is possible - and even very likely that the government accusations that Al-Marri is a sleeping Agent of Al-Qaeda is correct. But the case of Al-Marri was never about Terrorism, it was about check and balances of the American political system.
Under the flag of the war on terror the current administration was advancing another agenda, agenda that will change the balance between the different branches and that will give more unchecked power to the President. It also, at least in facto, promote the philosophy that in its war against the Terror threat it can limits the liberties and apply draconian measures. With the help of the legislature the administration pass laws that made the Liberty, it went to war to protect, limited and under attack from home. The Patriot Act was the first but other followed, such as the Military Commission Act.
But yesterday, finally, the Court start to put end for this. In a decision, that most likely will be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va. ruled against this claim to abuse our liberties:
In a stinging rejection of one of the Bush administration’s central assertions about the scope of executive authority to combat terrorism, a federal appeals court ordered the Pentagon to release a man being held as an enemy combatant.
“To sanction such presidential authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain civilians," Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote, “even if the President calls them ‘enemy combatants,’ would have disastrous consequences for the Constitution — and the country.”
“We refuse to recognize a claim to power,” Judge Motz added, “that would so alter the constitutional foundations of our Republic.”
We still have a long way to go before the damages of this administration will undone. But such ruling is a very good first step.
The Court Ruling is a very interesting document and I recommend reading it, mostly the minority opinion.
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Rogel @ June 12, 2007