The United States Supreme Court says the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, suspected of plotting the despicable attacks of September 11, 2001, still have rights.
John McCain says that the ruling "is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country."
He went on, "We are now going to have the courts flooded with so-called … habeas corpus suits against the government... And we are going to be bollixed up in a way that is terribly unfortunate because we need to go ahead and adjudicate these cases."
Of these "enemy combatants, he said, “These are people who are not citizens. They do not and never have been given the rights that citizens in this country have,” he said. “Now, my friends, there are some bad people down there. There are some bad people.”
Senator Obama disagreed, stating that the ruling "ensures that we can protect our nation and bring terrorists to justice while also protecting our core values.”
“The Court’s decision is a rejection of the Bush administration’s attempt to create a legal black hole at Guantanamo - yet another failed policy supported by John McCain,” he said. “This is an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus.”
What a breath of fresh air. Instead of the mentality that only people born in America (and presumed innocent) have rights, Senator Obama speaks about protecting our core values. Part of the reason that we left Britain and came to this land was so we could have the right to a fair trial. Guilty people have this right, and so should those at Guantanamo Bay until they are proven guilty.Others feel forcefully different. After this same story was published by FOX News, a reader commented with this statement:
"Of course Obama thinks it was a good decision. He like all leftist marxists hates the military and this country and everything they stand for. He would’nt know a “core value” if it bit him. This is a very dangerous time for us. If he is elected, fundamental constitutional rights and freedoms will be lost. These people are prisoners of war. They are not petty thieves or car jackers. They are not citizens. They do not have Miranda rights. This is an attempt by the judciary to take powers away from the executive branch. The liberal wing of the Supreme Court struck a blow at the Constitution today. This has nothing to do with law, this has to do with getting back at George Bush, who by the way is not running. We must have a president who appoints constructionist judges to the courts. We will be the authors of our own demise if Obama wins."
This person has a right. They apparently believe that right is based upon where they are born, and that it is not a truth they find to be "self evident" for everyone.
Ironically, this person says that the election of Senator Obama will lead to the loss of American freedoms and constitutional rights. There could not be a more poorly thought out statement on the issue. President Bush has done more to unravel justice in this nation with his unconstitutional war, unconstitutional spying on American citizens, unconstitutional arrests and unconstitutional torture than any terrorist has during his presidency. And the baseless and thoughtless accusation that the United States Supreme Court ruled this way just to get "back at George Bush," is simply not true. Perhaps the Bush faithful need to learn the same lesson that the President needs: not everything is about you!
The first statement made effectively shows how misguided those who still believe in our current really are: that Senator Obama hates our military and our country and everything that they stand for. For proof that believing that a President is incompetent does not make you hate the country of that President, click here. Or use common sense.
The fact of the matter is that Charles Manson had rights during his court cases. Warren Jeffs has rights today. As Americans, we find this truth to be self evident, that we all have basic human-- not American-- rights to fairness and justice, as opposed to the hasty action and thoughtless violence proposed by George Bush and John McCain.
When Senator Obama says we need to stick to our core values, he literally means the constitution. It looks like the constitution actually had a victory.
