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On 9 Dec 2002 at 9:17, Tim May wrote:
> Anyone in the U.S. can be declared an "enemy combatant" and
> vanished away from lawyers, habeas corpus, the 6th Amendment,
> and any semblance of the system of liberty we sort of had at
> one time.
So far this has only been applied to people who are obviously
hostile muslim terrorist wannabees, but the program will be
steadily expanded. Indeed, part of the homeland security act
already aims at people who make cartridges (reloaders), who
will in due course be dealt with by the extrajudicial means
provided for in the homeland security act.
In general wars lead to a major temporary reduction in liberty,
but a smaller permanent reduction in liberty. Unfortunately
the war on terror will probably never end, so there will be no
recovery.
The government is on perfectly good constitutional ground when
it claims that the army can do as it pleases on or near the
battlefield. Trouble is, with terrorism or guerrilla war, the
battlefield is arguably everywhere. We need a declaration of
victory that will push the battlefield to somewhere far away.
--digsig
James A. Donald
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