Sept. 11: the end of the country as we know it
One of the first signs the Roman Republic was on its way out was when Gaius Marius, already elected consul six times, entered Rome at the head of an army to be "elected" consul again for an unprecedented seventh time. It was an unwritten, but until then respected tradition, that no matter what the person's involvement with the military-- and consuls frequently were called upon to lead armies-- he left the army outside Rome and entered it, and was elected, as a civilian. Marius's entry into Rome with troops, as a Military Man, set the stage for his nephew's similar step years later when Ceasar crossed the Rubicon and-- again,against all republican form-- thereby entered the boundaries of Italy at the head of an army. The republic died, dictatorship was born and the seeds were sowed for empire.
Likewise, although our President also holds the title of "Commander in Chief", it has been an unwritten but observed norm that he acts primarily as an elected civilian. Lincoln was roundly condemned for suspending habeas corpus. Yet our courts have now sanctioned those very same actions by George Bush. On Friday, the Fourth Circuit denied a writ of habeas corpus to a United States citizen, one Padilla, who has not been charged with anything but who has been "detained" in a brig in South Carolina since 2002 as an "enemy combatant". In response to the argument that if he was guilty of anything the criminal process would operate to try, convict and hold him, the Court responded that the criminal process "might not work" and then this "enemy combatant" would go free to harm us again on the battlefield. In other words, because the government may not be able to actually prove that Padilla committed treason or is an "enemy combatant" we have to uphold the power of the President to hold him anyway, because Bush has decreed that he is an "enemy combatant". How ass backwards is that?
Even more than Lincoln's action-- which at least had the virtue of being a policy known to and applicable to all-- Bush may label, at random, with complete arbitrariness, and with no requirement of proof, anyone he deems an "enemy combatant" and !poof! that person's rights as an American citizen disappear.
What a way to celebrate September 11. The republic is dead. Long live the dictatorship.
Likewise, although our President also holds the title of "Commander in Chief", it has been an unwritten but observed norm that he acts primarily as an elected civilian. Lincoln was roundly condemned for suspending habeas corpus. Yet our courts have now sanctioned those very same actions by George Bush. On Friday, the Fourth Circuit denied a writ of habeas corpus to a United States citizen, one Padilla, who has not been charged with anything but who has been "detained" in a brig in South Carolina since 2002 as an "enemy combatant". In response to the argument that if he was guilty of anything the criminal process would operate to try, convict and hold him, the Court responded that the criminal process "might not work" and then this "enemy combatant" would go free to harm us again on the battlefield. In other words, because the government may not be able to actually prove that Padilla committed treason or is an "enemy combatant" we have to uphold the power of the President to hold him anyway, because Bush has decreed that he is an "enemy combatant". How ass backwards is that?
Even more than Lincoln's action-- which at least had the virtue of being a policy known to and applicable to all-- Bush may label, at random, with complete arbitrariness, and with no requirement of proof, anyone he deems an "enemy combatant" and !poof! that person's rights as an American citizen disappear.
What a way to celebrate September 11. The republic is dead. Long live the dictatorship.