Enemy Combatant #3

A Qatar man has been designated an enemy combatant by the Bush administration.

He's the third suspected terrorist now under the control of the military.

Comments

[Nicholas Weininger]

So they designated him an "enemy combatant" after dropping charges against him. But the prosecutors claim it wasn't for lack of evidence...

Yeah, right. Does *anybody* believe the DOJ's excuses? This case stinks to high heaven of "we couldn't convict him in a real court but we want to imprison him anyway." An utter, evil, indefensible, Soviet-style abandonment of the rule of law.

[thoreau]

"Setting aside the criminal charges was in the best interests of national security" (paraphrase) --Prosecutor in latest "enemy combatant case"

"We had to destroy the village in order to save it" (paraphrase) --Infamous Vietnam War quote

"We have always been at war with Oceania" (paraphrase) --Big Brother

"This would be a lot easier if it where a dictatorship" (paraphrase) --George Bush

"it's not possible to love your country and hate your government" (paraphrase) --Bill Clinton

"I trust my President." --Most of the conservatives who wrote letters to my local paper during the invasion of Iraq

"I trust my President." --Most liberals during the Lewinsky saga

I call it "The Surrealist Collection".

(Go ahead. Call me a liberal Democrat. Now my standard sign-off on the Reason discussion boards.)

[Josh]

You know, the "easier if it were a dictatorship" quote was a joke. No sense of humor, eh, Henry David?

[thoreau]

I think Eminem once said "a lot of truth is said in jest." 😉

Sorry if I didn't make this clear, but I wasn't suggesting that Bush necessarily meant it seriously. I just thought his joke was appropriate in a collection of surreal comments.

[Anonymous]

Nice to see that "combatant" doesn't even mean you have to be in combat anymore. Kind of sounds like the phrase "enemy combatant" came straight from the Department Of Homeland Security Department.

[omnibus bill]

Yeah, I think a political show trial like Moussaoui is staging would be much more in the national interest than the gross violation of rights, of refusing to extend constitutional protections to foreign citizens.

After all, it's better that millions should perish, than just one man's (illusory) rights be infringed...

[Andy]

Omnibus Bill; So what's the balance? Is it a 1:1 ratio? For everyone to be safe in the country an equal number (if necessary) can be locked up indefinately without trial or contact?

The reason people object to this is because they could be next. If the authorities had 100% accurate record of getting the right people no-one would care so much, but they don't...

[joe]

Bill,

What if they got the wrong guy? What if the one with the suitcase bomb is still out there, and the government is no longer searching for him? How much safer are we? Are you always this credulous about the pronouncements of government officials?

Due process, burden of proof, and right of appeal aren't just the right thing, they're the smart thing.

[Andy]

Politics could be considered combat of a sort, with the opposition being the enemy.