A few links, to point out the manueverings of the current political action, regarding long-standing assumptions via the United States practice of due process of law.

First, the constitution:

Section 9, Article1, 2nd line -


The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.

So - what IS habeas corpus?

The wikipedia article offers a good explanation:

.A writ of habeas corpus is a court order addressed to a prison official (or other custodian) ordering that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he or she should be released from custody. The writ of habeas corpus in common law countries is an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action

Next a link to a good Obsidian Wings article.

"It would eliminate the right of any alien who is in US custody outside the US, or who "has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant", to file for habeas corpus".

The above quote is in reference to the "better" legislation for dealing with the seized prisoner issues and the past conduct in the military and Bush administration authorizing torture.  (The other legislation wishes to change alter the implementation of the Geneva Conventions.)

Lastly, a frustrated post from Glen Greenwald - who quotes Alexander Hamilton a lot IN this post:

"Just look at the things we're debating -- whether the U.S. Government can abduct and indefinitely imprison U.S. citizens without charges; whether we can use torture to interrogate people; whether our Government can eavesdrop on our private conversations without warrants; whether we can create secret prisons and keep people there out of sight and beyond the reach of any law or oversight; and whether the President can simply disregard long-standing constitutional limitations and duly enacted Congressional laws because he has deemed that doing so is necessary to "protect" us.

These haven't been open questions for decades if not centuries. They've been settled as intrinsic values that define our country. Yet nothing is settled or resolved any longer. Everything -- even the most extremist and authoritarian policies and things which were long considered taboo -- are now openly entertained, justifiable and routinely justified".


Finally, an American Footprints post, that brings all the strands together (I'm basically cribbing most of this post - the habeas corpus wikipedia pointers are all that is added.)

So - a right that began appearing 800 years ago in England, and is a setttled part of the United States constitution, will now be summarily dismissed, at the Pentagon's say-so.  And this will be written into law, by this Congress, with not much of a peep against, by either Republicans - or, Democrats.

That a government can detain you for as long as it wishes, without cause, and without ability to challenge the detention - that is very very far from any integral value that one can name.