The Military Commissions Act of 2006 governing the treatment of detainees is the culmination of relentless fear-mongering by the Bush administration since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Because the bill was adopted with lightning speed, barely anyone noticed that it empowers Bush to declare not just aliens, but also U.S. citizens, “unlawful enemy combatants.” Bush… Read more »
We do not believe the Executive has, or should have, the inherent constitutional authority to violate the law or infringe the legal rights of Americans, whether it be a warrantless break-in into the home or office of an American, warrantless electronic surveillance, or a President’s authorization to the FBI to create a massive domestic security… Read more »
The Bush administration’s four-year crusade to kill Zacarias Moussaoui for whatever role he played in the September 11 attacks ended Wednesday when the jury declared Moussaoui will live. Seekers of vengeance are furious that the jury did not opt for death. But the verdict reveals that justice has been done. Moussaoui, a mentally ill wannabe… Read more »
The Moussaoui jury today enters its fifth day of deliberations on whether to execute the self-avowed conspirator in the September 11 attacks. After hours of graphic testimony and videotapes of the horrors on 9/11, as well as Moussaoui’s confession, this should have been an open-and-shut case. Yet the jury cannot ignore the fact that Zacarias… Read more »
The terror’s in the room. – CBS Journalist Edward R. Murrow, 1954 (Good Night and Good Luck) The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. – Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, Mar. 4, 1933 During the 1950’s, our government succumbed to the fear of Communism hyped by Senator Joseph McCarthy. People… Read more »
Once again, at the 11th hour, the Bush administration has pulled its punches in the case of Jose Padilla. Using an approach that more closely resembles a game of chess than a system of justice, Team Bush has altered its strategy, while seeking to keep all options open. Its fancy footwork, however, may ultimately backfire…. Read more »
A young man in the Delayed Entry Program changed his mind about enlisting. The recruiter said to him that Sept. 11 changed everything – “If you don’t report, that’s treason and you will be shot.” I helped him to obtain a discharge.-Bill Galvin, Counseling Coordinator, Center on Conscience and War Like the military recruiter trying… Read more »
Challenging US Human Rights Violations Since 9/11Ann Fagan Ginger, ed., Prometheus Books, 2005, 574 pp. The Bush administration is using the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as an excuse to launch a massive assault on the human rights of people throughout the world. From the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, to the torture and… Read more »
John Bolton is the wrong man for the job of US ambassador to the United Nations. His status as an avowed UN-hater, standing alone, disqualifies him. But there are other, stronger reasons to reject his appointment to that important post. Bolton’s performance in his current position as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and… Read more »
Twenty-four days after the September 11 attacks, I wrote in an article called Hoist on Our Own Petard: “The hatred that fueled 19 people to blow themselves up and take thousands with them has its genesis in a history of the United States government’s exploitation of people in oil-rich nations around the world. President George… Read more »