Enemies of Democracy

[Guest guest]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ken_sand_051112_enemies_of_democracy.htm

 

Enemies of Democracy

 

by Ken Sanders

 

http://www.opednews.com

 

 

 

 

n yet another disturbing example of our leaders' contempt for such

antiquated notions as democracy and the rule of law, on November 10,

2005, the U.S. Senate voted to prevent suspects detained at Guantanamo

Bay from challenging their detentions. The Senate's decision (which

will surely be adopted by the facile House) would eviscerate the 2004

Supreme Court decision which held that the detention centers at

Guantanamo were not outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law.

 

As a result of the Senate's vote, Guantanamo detainees would no longer

be able to challenge the very basis for their detention. In other

words, they would no longer be entitled to demand that the U.S.

demonstrate that it has good reason (hell, any reason) to suspect an

individual of terrorist activity. Detainees, who are only suspected of

terrorism, would no longer have access to any legal proceedings (not

even the sham proceedings they are currently afforded) in order to

demand some kind of legal and factual foundation for the allegations

leveled against them.

 

" So what? " you ask. Why should anyone care whether or not a bunch of

Islamo-fascists, enemy combatants, and subhuman terrorists get

anything resembling due process? Well, first of all, other than the

highly questionable word of our feckless government, there is no

evidence that those detained at Guantanamo have done anything wrong,

much less threatening to the United States. Indeed, since the

inception of the " war on terror " and the Bush administration's

extra-judicial detention of " enemy combatants, " more than 200

detainees have been released from Guantanamo. Why? Because they had

not done anything wrong. They were innocent.

 

Several of those released from Guantanamo were released following the

administrative hearings into their detention - hearings which occurred

only because they were required by the Supreme Court. The Senate now

wants to eliminate the very hearings that have resulted in the

liberation of hundreds of wrongly suspected, detained, and

interrogated individuals. The Senate wants to give the Bush

administration unfettered discretion to detain anyone it chooses to

label as the enemy, regardless of that person's actual innocence.

 

There is nothing just about the baseless detention of innocent people.

Indeed, it is emphatically unjust to indefinitely detain innocent

people without charge and without legal recourse. It is not merely

unjust, but indefensible. It is outrageous and contrary to everything

for which this country, its government, and its people profess to stand.

 

The Senate's recent vote is further horrifying in that it grants the

Bush administration the absolute and extra-legal authority it had

previously granted itself - an authority the Supreme Court deemed

unconstitutional. Thanks to the Senate, the Bush administration once

again has the authority to determine who is an enemy combatant, detain

them without charge or evidence, and throw away the key. Put

differently, the Senate has effectively placed the Bush administration

above the law and has eliminated the judiciary as a check on the

administration's actions.

 

That the Republican Senate (soon to followed by the Republican House)

seeks to exempt the Republican administration from the constraints of

the Constitution and the rule of law should be offensive to all

Americans. It should be particularly offensive to those who claim to

be conservatives. Long the champions (even if in word only) of holding

the government to the parameters originally envisioned by the

Founders, co-called conservatives decry anything that deviates from

the original intent of the Constitution. By granting the Bush

administration the unfettered and unchecked authority to detain

whomever it wants for however long it wants, Congress has obliterated

the limits and safeguards required by the Constitution. As such, those

who call themselves conservatives ought to be up in arms over the

Congress' subversion and perversion of fundamental Constitutional

principles.

 

Of course, since most of the self-described conservatives are merely

Republicans in principled clothing, they applaud a Republican

Congress' granting of absolute power to the Republican President. That

the Constitution is reduced to a collection of inspirational phrases

is a worthy sacrifice. After all, the continued dominance of the

Republican party vastly outweighs the continued validity of the

Constitution.

 

Through their vote to vest Bush with an emperor's authority, the

Senate has betrayed its hatred and contempt for the Constitution, the

U.S., and fundamental democratic principles. By exempting the Bush

administration from the quaint requirements of the Constitution, the

Senate has made great strides toward completing this country's

transformation from democracy to dictatorship.

 

www.politicsofdissent.blogspot.com

 

Ken Sanders is a lawyer and writer in Tucson, Arizona. His publishing

credits include Op Ed News, Z Magazine, Democratic Underground,

Dissident Voice, and Common Dreams. More of his writing can be found

on his weblog at http://www.politicsofdissent.blogspot.com.