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 -Would Conduct Secret Trials Suspected Terrorists are Facing Military Arrests and Executions U.S. Justice is Mocked & Even Some Conservatives are Shocked |
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By Jack Nichols Washington, D.C.-In the wake of the tragic attacks of September 11, the Bush Administration has issued an executive order that seizes unlimited and unprecedented dictatorial powers. Attorney General John Ashcroft is celebrating the order, which includes secret trials and executions of suspects, as "necessary" American defenses. William Safire, a Republican supporter and a renowned conservative columnist for the New York Times, says Mr. Bush is "seizing dictatorial powers." (November 15) "Misadvised by a frustrated and panic-stricken attorney general," writes Mr. Safire, "a president of the United States has just assumed what amounts to dictatorial power to jail or execute aliens. Intimidated by terrorists and inflamed by a passion for rough justice, we are letting George W. Bush get away with the replacement of the American rule of law with military kangaroo courts." Attorney General Ashcroft, whose nomination by Bush occasioned bitter disputes that threatened in 2000 to derail him, has proved himself far more eager to trash the U.S. Constitution than even his political enemies could have earlier imagined. Ashcroft, a pawn of the religious right, told reporters Wednesday: "Foreign terrorists who commit war crimes against the United States, in my judgment are not entitled to and do not deserve the protections of the American Constitution." Democratic leader Senator Tom Daschle, while supporting the goal of swift justice for terrorists, said that he wanted to ensure that it was accomplished without undermining constitutional protections. Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D.-Vermont), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, complained that his committee is "really not being consulted at all and it's hard to understand why." Representative Bob Barr (R.-Georgia) also a Judiciary Committee member, said he was "not aware that they are consulting us at all." Under the new executive order George W. Bush himself will determine who is an accused terrorist by stating in writing "there is reason to believe" such rumors according to his own whim. The accused can thereafter be arrested, kept isolated and condemned to death by a tribunal whose decision need not be unanimous. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has announced that it is "deeply disturbed by President Bush's executive order allowing special military tribunals to try non-citizens charged with terrorism." The tribunals would even reach non-citizens in the United States, including lawful permanent residents. "To our knowledge," says the ACLU, "the move to establish a military tribunal when Congress has not declared war is unprecedented." The ACLU's statement says: "We do not believe that the Administration has shown that the constitutional jury trial system does not allow for the prosecution of those accused of terrorist activities. Absent such a compelling justification, the President's decision is further evidence that the Administration is totally unwilling to abide by the checks and balances that are so central to our democracy. "The use of military tribunals would apparently authorize secret trials without a jury and without the requirement of a unanimous verdict and would limit a defendant's opportunities to confront the evidence against him and choose his own lawyer. What's worse, these important legal protections would be removed in a situation where defendants may very well be facing the death penalty. "It is difficult to understand how the Administration can justify the use of a tribunal when the United States has successfully tried in our courts non-citizens accused of terrorist acts, organized crime, and others in situations where the safety of jurors and the disclosure of government intelligence methods were at issue. "As the prosecutions of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh demonstrate, the government has managed to protect the safety and identity of jurors while achieving convictions in terrorism cases. And there is already a system established to handle classified information in the course of a trial; it is called the Classified Information Procedures Act. "For decades, CIPA has adequately balanced national security and due process concerns. The government has made no showing that CIPA procedures would not be adequate in these circumstances as well. "Further, it would be hypocritical of the United States to impose such a tribunal when we have repeatedly protested the use of such courts against U.S. citizens abroad. "Congress has already given the Administration and the Justice Department virtually everything they asked for to fight terrorism. This latest move, combined with the Justice Department's announced intentions to eavesdrop on attorney conversations with inmates and to begin interviewing foreign visitors to the United States, demonstrates the government's increasing willingness to circumvent the requirements of the Bill of Rights. "We call on Congress," concludes the ACLU, "to exercise its oversight powers before the Bill of Rights in America is distorted beyond recognition." |
