Tuesday July 22, 2008, 10:16 pm
A conservative-dominated U.S. Appeals Court has opened the door for President George W. Bush or a successor to throw American citizens - as well as non-citizens - into a legal black hole by designating them “enemy combatants,” even if they have engaged in no violent act and are living on U.S. soil.

The truly frightening thing about this is,
"enemy combatant" can mean anything the Govt.
and the president says it is.
None of us is living in the same country
we were born in.....those of us who are
American citizens, that is.
Be afraid......be very afraid.

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 10:44 pm
I am scared. More everyday. This isn't the same country I grew up in anymaore. Noted with disgust. Thanks Tim.

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 11:23 pm
Noted ..Thanks Tim...

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 11:24 pm
There was one worse than Hitler during WWII, and that was Stalin. When I read this story, he was the first one I thought of. His regime was the ultimate nightmare. History repeats itself. You have a right to be afraid. God help the children who are being born today.

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 11:29 pm
Thanks Tim, should see ya this week end if all goes well. It is indeed time for change

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 11:42 pm
WE KNOW BUSH IS A DISGRACE BUT, IF WE GET MCCAIN'T HE WILL "FINISH" DESTROYING US! HE IS A HEARTLESS BASTARD! THANKS MY FRIEND!

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 11:44 pm
noted thanks tim

Tuesday July 22, 2008, 11:45 pm
IT'S A DAMN SHAME THE PEOPLE OF THE USA HAVE TO SETTLE FOR--THE WORSE OF TWO EVIL'S! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE--THESE TWO SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TWO "OUT" OF THE RACE!

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 1:21 am
. . .why oh why doesn't Godzilla visit Washington DC instead of Tokyo?

This is only more proof that we are becoming a Stalinist police state. A combination of Huxley and Orwell.

Historically speaking, revolutionaries have always expected this behavior from authority. They knew what they were getting into. Fascism, Communism, dictatorship. . .didn't matter. . .they knew the score, accepted the risks and faced them.

On the other hand, it was the "decent" people who were shocked and surprised when the authorities came after them. And locked them up. And held secret trials. And took their property. And put them into concentration camps. And 'executed' them as enemies of the state.

Me, I'm aware and ready.

But if you kids don't speak up now, there's not gonna be anyone around to speak up for you when they come after you.

Which WILL happen. . .if you let this go on.

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 3:20 am
I'm with you, Brenda...and yes, I have no doubt that the net will fall on lawful US citizens who speak out against our government.

AND A REMINDER: PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND SPREAD THE WORD TO FRIENDS. IF YOU HAVE SIGNED, THANK YOU! JUSTICE FOR JULIE

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 3:25 am
Be afraid people be very afraid
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/camps.htm

http://www.sianews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1062

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 6:20 am
Will it be much longer before masses of United States citizens will be "disappeared"?

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 7:10 am
The revolution is COMING......WE are NOT the only ones who need to be afraid.....

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 7:22 am
O M G! Yes Tim, Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!!! Noted with thanks.

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 7:40 am

Is as relevent today as it was yesterday

The Times They Are A-Changin':

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 8:42 am

Thanks, my dear friend, Tim!

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 8:49 am
“For over two centuries of growth and struggle, peace and war, the Constitution has secured our freedom through the guarantee that, in the United States, no one will be deprived of liberty without due process of law,” wrote Judge Diana Motz, a Bill Clinton appointee, who dissented against the court’s approval of sweeping presidential powers.

Motz noted that al-Marri has been imprisoned for more than five years, “without acknowledgement of the protection afforded by the Constitution, solely because the Executive believes that his indefinite military detention - or even the indefinite military detention of a similarly situated American citizen - is proper.”

Al-Marri’s lawyers plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the case underscores one of the biggest issues at stake in the November elections: whether Republican John McCain will get to fulfill his promise to appoint more Supreme Court judges like Samuel Alito and John Roberts, who have embraced Bush’s vision of an all-powerful President.

Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court has a slim 5-4 majority in favor of limiting Bush’s authority to deny basic constitutional rights to people designated “enemy combatants,” but the replacement of one member of the majority with another Alito or Roberts would tip the balance and effectively permit the rewriting of the U.S. Constitution.

Though the July 15 ruling was convoluted and did call for a federal District Court to afford al-Marri some more rights, the Appeals Court decision effectively upheld Bush’s assertion of nearly unlimited power to have people detained as “enemy combatants.”

The ruling suggested that even American citizens - if they are deemed “enemy combatants” - could be subjected to Bush’s military commissions, where truncated legal rights make proving a person’s guilt much easier than in civilian courts.

Stunned Realization

Previously, the New York Times editorial page and some liberal legal experts had criticized Bush’s high-handed approach toward non-citizens, but had assured Americans that the military commissions would not apply to them.

But at Consortiumnews.com, we noted that language buried in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 seemed to cover - indeed even target - U.S. citizens. [See “Who Is ‘Any Person’ in Tribunal Law?” or our book, Neck Deep.]

For instance, one section dealing with penalties stated that “any person is punishable as a principal under this chapter who commits an offense punishable by this chapter, or aids, abets, counsels, commands, or procures its commission,” according to the law.

Another clause stated that “any person subject to this chapter who, in breach of an allegiance or duty to the United States, knowingly and intentionally aids an enemy of the United States … shall be punished as a military commission … may direct.” [Emphasis added]

Presumably, Osama bin Laden has no “allegiance or duty to the United States.” Such a phrase seems aimed at American citizens.

But it took the Appeals Court ruling - and the blunt language from Judge Motz about denying constitutional rights to U.S. citizens - to catch the New York Times’ attention.

In a July 20 editorial, the Times wrote that the Appeals Court’s “decision gives the President sweeping power to deprive anyone - citizens as well as non-citizens - of their freedom. …

“The implications are breathtaking. The designation ‘enemy combatant,’ which should apply only to people captured on a battlefield, can now be applied to people detained inside the United States. Even though Mr. Marri is not an American citizen, the court’s reasoning appears to apply equally to citizens.”

Bush’s victory in the Marri case reflects his continued insistence that for the duration of the “war on terror,” Bush or any successor can exercise “plenary” - or unlimited - powers as the Commander in Chief.

And, since the “war on terror” will go on indefinitely and since the “battlefield” is everywhere, Bush is asserting the President’s right to do whatever he wants to whomever he wants wherever the person might be, virtually forever.

In effect, Bush’s interpretation of his own powers - allowing him to imprison, torture and kill at his discretion - trumps the Founders’ vision that everyone possesses certain “unalienable rights” that a government can’t take away.

Despite some reversals in the U.S. Supreme Court - and the loss of Republican control of Congress in 2006 - Bush still sees himself as a kind of a global monarch who gets to decide which rights and freedoms his subjects anywhere in the world can enjoy and which ones will be denied them.

Al-Marri’s Arrest

Al-Marri entered the United States on a legal student visa, along with his wife and children, only a day before the 9/11 attacks. He was arrested amid the panic and fear that followed the attacks, and was charged criminally in a credit-card scheme.

But the Bush administration then asserted that al-Marri was an al-Qaeda “sleeper cell” agent planning follow-up attacks, declared him an “enemy combatant,” and locked him up at a Navy brig in South Carolina, where he was held incommunicado.

Eventually, al-Marri challenged his indefinite detention through a federal court suit. Bush’s lawyers countered by citing the Military Commissions Act in seeking to deny him access to civilian courts.

In an affidavit submitted to a District Court, a U.S. counter-terrorism official alleged that al-Marri had received al-Qaeda training, was prepared to engage in a suicide attack, and had met personally with Osama bin Laden and other senior terrorist leaders.

However, the original source of that evidence was kept secret, since it presumably was derived from interrogation of al-Qaeda captives, many of whom have been subjected to brutal interrogation methods.

In siding with Bush, conservative Appeals Court judges noted al-Marri had offered only a general denial of the accusations against him and failed to rebut the specific charges. Al-Marri’s lawyers argued that their client should have a right to confront his accusers and not be put in a position of having to prove his innocence.

However, the Appeals Court’s majority accepted the validity of the “sleeper cell” allegations - since al-Marri had not disproved them - and ruled that Bush did have the authority to lock al-Marri up indefinitely as an “enemy combatant.”

“While I would be the first to agree that the criminal justice system retains an important place in our constitutional system when handling the terrorist threat, the notion that it is the only manner of dealing with such threats, or is constitutionally compelled in all cases involving apprehensions on American soil, is simply wrong,” wrote Judge Harvie Wilkinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee who is often cited as a possible Republican Supreme Court nominee.

Wilkinson said the government had many good reasons not to grant an accused terrorist a public trial.

“While a showcase of American values, an open and public criminal trial may also serve as a platform for suspected terrorists,” Wilkinson wrote. “Terror suspects may use the bully pulpit of a criminal trial in an attempt to recruit others to their cause. Likewise, terror suspects may take advantage of the opportunity to interact with others during trial to pass critical intelligence to their allies.”

However, Motz and other more liberal judges dissented on the grounds that the Constitution spells out basic due-process rights for defendants and that denying those rights to non-citizens like al-Marri means that they would be lost to U.S. citizens as well.

“It is likely that the constitutional rights our court determines exist, or do not exist, for al-Marri will apply equally to our own citizens under like circumstances,” Motz wrote. “This means simply that protections we declare to be unavailable under the Constitution to al-Marri might likewise be unavailable to American citizens, and those rights which protect him will protect us as well.”

Motz’s conclusion also wasn’t simply based on her opinion. It was a little-notice argument that Bush’s lawyers made earlier in the case.

“A citizen, no less than an alien, can be an enemy combatant,” administration lawyer David B. Salmons told the Appeals Court in oral arguments on Feb. 1, 2007, adding that the courts cannot interfere with the President’s wartime judgments on such matters.

Salmons insisted that Bush is not interested in using this power too broadly, but argued that the judgment on whom is deemed an “enemy combatant” must solely be at the discretion of President Bush. [NYT, Feb. 2, 2007]

What may be decided in Election 2008 is whether the U.S. Supreme Court will be stocked with like-minded legal theorists.

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 9:25 am
Many thanks to everyone who has noted & commented.

Maggi, Thank you so much for posting the Bob Dylan.
Oh yes, that song, which is 45 years old, is so timely
it could have been written 10 minutes ago.
You are SO right: WE are not the only ones who need
to be afraid. I feel an empathic sense in my spirit that
there is a very violent and bloody revolution coming in
this country.

Morgan, yes, soon people WILL be "disappeared" in our
country. There have already been dozens, if not scores
of people who have been "accidented". I'm especially thinking
of a man (who's name escapes me now) who was virulently
outspoken of the Bush mis-Administration. This man "committed
suicide"......by shooting himself in the face with a shotgun
....twice.
My buddy Kozure mentioned Stalinist Russia:
For the strong of stomach and emotion, I would highly suggest
you find a copy of "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn. I tried reading it a few years back, and I
could only get halfway through it. It scared the hell out
of me because I knew (a) it was a true story and (b) it was
going to happen here. But still, it's a brutal story extremely
well-written, though it would take someone stronger than I
to make it to the last page.

My friends and loved ones are the BEST, and I love you all!
Thanks so much for your support!

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 10:56 am
There is definitely an different "energy" these days...fear and outrage at a new level? I am frustrated that Dylan's song is still relevant...Where is that change? The song is as old as I am-my first awareness of corruption was the Nixon era and I've been hopeful then disappointed over and over since then...

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 12:56 pm
Noted...Thanks Tim!!

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 4:30 pm
Because of the 60's there were changes and for the better. Well, all of us from the 60's are still here and doing nothing but bitching. I gotta ask, where the hell were our congressmen while Bush was given this "authority" to be a dictator. The Constitution and Bill of Rights are sworn to be upheld and we have made sure it applied to our own citizens and anyone else we held captive...until Bush. We were respected and leaders in the world and now everyone spits on us. Ya don't think it has to do with the politicians we elect??? Bush and Cheney need to be impeached for crimes against Americans (and the rest of the world). You can get impeached for oral sex but not for screwing the entire country and lying to all of us. Our checks and balance is suppost to lie within Congress. They let this happen and so did the press with a quiet little story after the fact. We all should have invaded that hearing like the good old days and stopped all of it until we had our speaker in the judicial world. Where is the ACLU? They, too, try to protect us in their own way although we all don't agree with everything they do. There are so many great people on this site that truly cares and speak so very well. WITHOUT THE CONSTITUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS, WE ARE NOT AMERICA ANY MORE!!!

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 4:34 pm
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
are dead. The Patriot Act, and it's follow-ups
saw to that.
You are so right, Sandy:
This is NOT America anymore, nor has it been
for a long, long time......and I fear it never
will be again.

Thursday July 24, 2008, 3:29 pm
thanks tim , i think according to this statement ..Motz wrote. “This means simply that protections we declare to be unavailable under the Constitution to al-Marri might likewise be unavailable to American citizens, and those rights which protect him will protect us as well.”.. the phrase " enemy compactant" is becoming broader and broader and doesn't threat any foreigners in american soil only but it exceeds to all american citizen ..and all the national rights granted by the american constitution would be manipulated and scorned by the government ..this will spread the threat to all unamericans living or asking for entry visa to states and deprive the rights of those enjoying living in states ..this is great deceive to the disciplines of american constitution of citizens rights .

Thursday July 24, 2008, 9:19 pm

Thank you Tim. Excellent post and really good comments.

Sunday July 27, 2008, 4:24 am
James and I have been checking the mileage to Canada or someplace that has a Constitution which protects rights instead of taking them away.

This is just the beginning of a dominate state. States rights will soon not exist at all and along with that comes the loss of our rights as members of the club.

There are those of us who have tried to warn, but to no heed apparently. Bush is still in office along with his ilk. No longer must you visit the Library of Congress to see the Constitution. Just stop by the White House and you can wipe your feet on it.

Monday July 28, 2008, 12:35 pm
So many Americans don't realize these rights are quietly being stripped from them. DON'T be afraid friends, stay strong, be sure someone knows to look for you here every day, keep contacts close. They want us afraid because fear is so crippling. Be that little mouse with the middle finger up at the eagle swooping down to devour, make an act of defiance!
I don't believe Bush was ever re-elected, I am not sure there is much we can do about who gets that head spot. And I don't believe anything this government tells me.
Great articles, Tim, keep up the posting!