I've been debating over at Vomitting Confetti, this new act of Congress. The debate - and it is important for me to have this debate remain civil - has mainly been with Matthew Dallman.
At any rate, to further that end, I setup up poor Tuff Ghost in a thought experiment. I reproduce below:
MD,
Thanks for providing the text, it is appreciated.
I think what you gloss over is the assumption of guilt, of someone who IS picked up as an unlawful enemy combatant. Mistakes happen, and there needs to be a way to challenge those mistakes.
Let's look at section two of unlawful enemy combatant:
"(ii) a person who, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the President or the Secretary of Defense."
Since I want this debate to remain amusing between us, I'm going to continue to, in imagination, subject poor TG to what happens when he is picked up in the U.S. by mistake:
Okay, so while flying to visit you in Chi-town, TG is mistakenly tagged as a dangerous enemy combatant, and taken into custody by the FBI.
He is then transferred to a facility where he can be interrogated.
Let's have some more fun, and we will say his interrogation consists of taking a page - with variation - out of The Clockwork Orange".
He is strapped to a chair, with eyelids forced open, and forced to watch The Star Wars Holiday Special for 72 hours straight at full volume.
Hey, you really can't consider that torture can you? Everyone loves Star Wars!! And people stay awake for 72 hours all the time.
At any rate, poor TG of course, doesn't know anything. Although, he might start making stuff up, if he thinks it will get him relief from seeing one more Wookie.
Then of course, his case eventually will be brought to a "Combatant Status Review Tribunal". That tribunal will get the transcripts of his interrogations, the reasons for the suspicions against TG (perhaps there is a person who hangs out on some of the al queda message boards who ALSO uses the moniker Tuff Ghost, or an approximation - that could have been the reason for the pickup, plus the fact that there are many posts about the War on Terror on this site!!)
Note - at no point does TG get access to a lawyer, or a chance to competently refute these charges. At no point does TG get the chance to see the evidence against him. Most likely, he doesn't go before this Tribunal personally. It is very possible that the evidence is provided to the tribunal, is very skewed, yes?
And if the tribunal says "we need more information", or agrees with the "evidence" produced, that's it for TG.
And that is a HUGE problem, don't you think.
By the way, TG - when are you coming to the States? You will enjoy US hospitality - why, at the beginning of the year, the United States decided to build a whole new group of accomodations!
Isn't that thoughtful?
I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but go over there to Vomiting Confetti's, and give your thoughts (be civil please). Help me keep Tuff Ghost out of detention!
