Guantanamo Bay is Unconstitutional
I believe with every fiber of my being that in the long run we also cannot keep this country safe unless we enlist the power of our most fundamental values. The documents that we hold in this very hall -- the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights -- these are not simply words written into aging parchment. They are the foundation of liberty and justice in this country, and a light that shines for all who seek freedom, fairness, equality, and dignity around the world.
I stand here today as someone whose own life was made possible by these documents. My father came to these shores in search of the promise that they offered. My mother made me rise before dawn to learn their truths when I lived as a child in a foreign land. My own American journey was paved by generations of citizens who gave meaning to those simple words -- "to form a more perfect union." I've studied the Constitution as a student, I've taught it as a teacher, I've been bound by it as a lawyer and a legislator. I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief, and as a citizen, I know that we must never, ever, turn our back on its enduring principles for expedience sake.
I make this claim not simply as a matter of idealism. We uphold our most cherished values not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens our country and it keeps us safe. Time and again, our values have been our best national security asset -- in war and peace; in times of ease and in eras of upheaval.
Fidelity to our values is the reason why the United States of America grew from a small string of colonies under the writ of an empire to the strongest nation in the world.
It's the reason why enemy soldiers have surrendered to us in battle, knowing they'd receive better treatment from America's Armed Forces than from their own government.
It's the reason why America has benefitted from strong alliances that amplified our power, and drawn a sharp, moral contrast with our adversaries.
It's the reason why we've been able to overpower the iron fist of fascism and outlast the iron curtain of communism, and enlist free nations and free peoples everywhere in the common cause and common effort of liberty.
From Europe to the Pacific, we've been the nation that has shut down torture chambers and replaced tyranny with the rule of law. That is who we are. And where terrorists offer only the injustice of disorder and destruction, America must demonstrate that our values and our institutions are more resilient than a hateful ideology.
After 9/11, we knew that we had entered a new era -- that enemies who did not abide by any law of war would present new challenges to our application of the law; that our government would need new tools to protect the American people, and that these tools would have to allow us to prevent attacks instead of simply prosecuting those who try to carry them out.
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The US Constitution does not apply to non-citizens, and it certainly doesn't apply to enemy combatants. The radical Islamic militants detained at Guantanamo consider themselves to be at war with the United States, and seek our destruction. They should be treated as such.
Erik,
The US Constitution in fact does not apply to non-citizens, bu the fact is that these radical militias are just that, radical. They have no official uniform to be identified by, no country of residence, and as such are country-less. Not only does keeping these foreign combatants detained and under several types of very serious and mentally disturbing torture break both the Geneva Convention and The UN Treaty, but the entire essence of america as the safeguard keeping this world united.
First, my comment was a direct response to the claim that "Guantanamo is Unconstitutional." Since the Constitution does not protect non-citizens in foreign territories, Guantanamo cannot be a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Second, the Geneva Convention, et alia, are treaties that protect civilians and military personnel when two nations are engaged in combat as part of a declared war. International law does not protect terrorists.
Third, even if these combatants were protected by the Geneva Convention, the U.S. would still have the full legal authority, both domestically and internationally to detain them until the resolution of conflicts. Since the terrorist organizations they profess to be affiliated with aren't going anywhere soon, that essentially means we can legally detain terrorists indefinitely.
Finally, this is a picture of KSM when he was captured: http://lnkd.it/bjsnaV This is a much more recent picture, after he's spent time in Guantanamo: http://lnkd.it/b55mD6 It looks like he's doing alright for himself.