"Preserves judicial review in civilian courts"
I think I wont be the only one disturbed by the above statement. David Bowker, in his article "Unwise Counsel" , on pg. 188, writes "Tellingly, the U.S. government has vigorosoly opposed every effort to obtain habeas corpus review of these detentions, notwithstanding White House counsel's public reassurance that the Presidents November 13 order "preserves judicial review in civilian courts.""
The more I read about torture, the more this article and others disturb me. As an American-born citizen, I worry about torture. Let me explain my view on this type of torture, though. I worry about physical torture that exists in the world, such as the waterboarding, the interrogation tactics, etc. which I doubt I will ever have to experience in my lifetime. I sincerely doubt any of us, who are sane and rational individuals, will ever be subjected to this torture unless we decide to start committing acts of terrorism against the United States. The torture I worry about is the torture listed above, the one that has come of light since September 11th, 2001. Our leaders now have to come out and explicitly state to the citizens of this nation that our rights will be protected, as other people's rights are not.
Why is this torture? Precisely for the reason above. The average citizen today does not know legally where he stands. What is legal? What isn't? Sure, we all know not to murder, rape, loot, pillage, etc. but with such laws as the Patriot Act, and other acts that we may not be explicitly aware of, we may be breaking the law. Are we possibly looking at a Guantanamo trip? Perhaps spending the better years of our life locked up in a brig in some US military base? But the biggest question is: What rights do we have left?
Our leaders came out and explicitly stated that judicial review will still stand in civilian courts. Great, but will I end up in a civilian court if I ever have to go to trial? This is the type of torture the average american has to deal with on some level. We don't know where we stand legally, or what rights we have. We dont know what will be crossing a line, or even if a line exists. Does speaking out against a government position mean we will be placed onto a list of dissenters, such as existed during the heyday of McCarthyism?
These nagging doubts and questions could be nothing more than a heightened state of tension, or a loose form of paranoia, but the fact is, the need to have our rights explicitly stated to us did not exist before September 11th. Living in fear, doubt, and constant political pressure is certainly a form of torture that has now become part of our daily life. When will it stop?
The more I read about torture, the more this article and others disturb me. As an American-born citizen, I worry about torture. Let me explain my view on this type of torture, though. I worry about physical torture that exists in the world, such as the waterboarding, the interrogation tactics, etc. which I doubt I will ever have to experience in my lifetime. I sincerely doubt any of us, who are sane and rational individuals, will ever be subjected to this torture unless we decide to start committing acts of terrorism against the United States. The torture I worry about is the torture listed above, the one that has come of light since September 11th, 2001. Our leaders now have to come out and explicitly state to the citizens of this nation that our rights will be protected, as other people's rights are not.
Why is this torture? Precisely for the reason above. The average citizen today does not know legally where he stands. What is legal? What isn't? Sure, we all know not to murder, rape, loot, pillage, etc. but with such laws as the Patriot Act, and other acts that we may not be explicitly aware of, we may be breaking the law. Are we possibly looking at a Guantanamo trip? Perhaps spending the better years of our life locked up in a brig in some US military base? But the biggest question is: What rights do we have left?
Our leaders came out and explicitly stated that judicial review will still stand in civilian courts. Great, but will I end up in a civilian court if I ever have to go to trial? This is the type of torture the average american has to deal with on some level. We don't know where we stand legally, or what rights we have. We dont know what will be crossing a line, or even if a line exists. Does speaking out against a government position mean we will be placed onto a list of dissenters, such as existed during the heyday of McCarthyism?
These nagging doubts and questions could be nothing more than a heightened state of tension, or a loose form of paranoia, but the fact is, the need to have our rights explicitly stated to us did not exist before September 11th. Living in fear, doubt, and constant political pressure is certainly a form of torture that has now become part of our daily life. When will it stop?
posted by Ian S. Crawford at 14:52
1 Comments:
Ian,
Things really have gotten out of hand, but I think American citizens are much more likely to have some rights than non-citizens.
2
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