It is America, After All

In a stunning blow to the Bush Administration in its war-on-terrorism policies, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign nationals held at Guantanamo Bay have a right to pursue habeas challenges to their detention. The Court, dividing 5-4, ruled that Congress had not validly taken away habeas rights. If Congress wishes to suspend habeas, it must do so only as the Constitution allows — when the country faces rebellion or invasion.

The Court stressed that it was not ruling that the detainees are entitled to be released — that is, entitled to have writs issued to end their confinement. That issue, it said, is left to the District Court judges who will be hearing the challenges. The Court also said that “we do not address whether the President has authority to detain” individuals during the war on terrorism, and hold them at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba; that, too, it said, is to be considered first by the District judges.

The issue with the "War on Terror (tm)" is that it is claimed as never ending. Therefore, Bush Co. claims they can hold people as long as the war lasts, without any need to justify it..

As justice Kennedy wrote;

"The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."

There is no reason - none, where you simply brush aside the rule of law. Conservatives use classic scare tactics, but I'd rather be vaporized in a nuclear blast then abandon the rule of law.

If the prisoners are truly bad guys.. then there's no reason not to give them a hearing in a federal court, with appointed defense attorneys, and let them go if there is no evidence against them.

This is why it's critical that Obama win the election. The court has 4 very dangerous justices currently, and the "swing vote", Kennedy, is likely to retire during the next President's term. It's also possible Scalia may retire. We'll need new justices that will limit government power, not expand it.

It's a good day for the Constitution.

/update

More from the ruling;

The Framers' inherent distrust of government power was the driving force behind the constitutional plan that allocated powers among three independent branches. This design serves not only to make Government accountable but also to secure individual liberty. . . .

Where a person is detained by executive order rather than, say, after being tried and convicted in a court, the need for collateral review is most pressing. . . . The habeas court must have sufficient authority to conduct a meaningful review of both the cause of detention and the Executive's power to detain. . . .

Security depends upon a sophisticated intelligence apparatus and the ability of our Armed Forces to act and interdict. There are further considerations, however. Security subsists, too, in fidelity to freedom's first principles. Chief among these are freedom from arbitrary and unlawful restraint and the personal liberty that is secured by adherence to separation of powers. . . .

The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system, they are reconciled within the framework of law. The Framers decided that habeas corpus, a right of first importance, must be a part of that framework, part of that law.

The media is now reporting that Bush is opposed to the ruling. It's not surprising, considering he considers himself the "authority".

We owe our continued freedom to the men who brought this nation out of the tyranny of another dictator. They established a system that would prevent future dictators from seizing power. They knew of the coming evils of the authoritarian cult - as clearly evidenced by the rise of the Christian Conservative Republican party.

They are defeated again.