Dan Minette wrote; > But, the law _specifically_ > addresses the treatment of aliens, not citizens. So, by this > law, I think the President could declare a citizen an > "unlawful enemy combatant", but he clearly could not subject > a citizen to these tribunals...because...by the definition of > alien given within the bill...citizens are excluded.
I am curious about how you reached this conclusion. The Bill nowhere says that this law is meant only for aliens, and the term 'Unlawful Enemy Combatant' is defined in such a way as to make citizens vulnerable. All the Bill does is define alien, and UEC, and Protected Persons, and mentions that the later two categories would be decided by the President's say-so. The only other category to be excluded from an automatic application of the Bill is Lawful Enemy Combatants, and no US citizen would fit the bill for that. > But, given the nature and scope attack on the US on 9-11, I am confused. What *was* the nature and scope of the attack, other than being a terrorist attack which left approximately 3000 people dead? > we see a relatively modest risk to liberty in our > response... http://www.counterpunch.com/ramakrishnan10032006.html > Most > Americans do not see the Republicans as a worst risk than Al > Quida. By arguing that they are, talking about Republicans > as RepubliKKKans and the new Gestapo, leftists can whip up > the faithful, but do not contribute to a meaningful > discussion. Discussions of ensuring that the law doesn't > enable some future president to restrict American liberty may > not be as stirring as yelling Gestapo, but I think they would > be much more productive. Uh uh. Terrorists are never as bad a risk as a Govt intent on stripping rights from its citizens. All the terrorists can do is kill some people and blow up some buildings/vehicles. Govts can tear apart the fabric of a polity. Pointing that out, and resisting it, is not fear-mongering, it is the duty of every citizen. Ritu _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
