When you need to make bad law, fly in some bad cases

14.09.06

Yesterday, President George W. Bush made two significant moves in his “war on terror.” He simultaneously proposed a revised version of the military commissions for Guantanamo, and flew in the 14 worst cases he could find in his secret prisons to justify the bad law he wants to pass.
The reason for the transfer is transparently political. The administration has long argued that Guantanamo houses the ‘worst of the worst’ terrorists in the world, yet it has gradually become clear that the ‘baddest’ man there was, at most, bin Laden’s chauffeur. The administration wants to pass a draconian military commission bill and prefers to focus the argument on limiting the rights of Al Qaida’s main architects, rather than the small fry who have been held for so long.

Much of the language in the new commission bill introduced yesterday comes verbatim from the earlier incarnation. The law applies retroactively, tossing away several centuries of ex post facto jurisprudence. The “jury” continues to be made up of military officers “convened”, (ie, hand-picked), by secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld. Statements coerced out of the prisoner or some person unknown may still be used, so long as the colonel in charge thinks they have some probative value. The accused may still be convicted based on evidence kept secret from him. The bill allows for the death penalty for every crime and is there anyone who believes the Bush administration will seek a lesser punishment for these 14 men?

Most troubling, perhaps, is the implicit repudiation of Bush’s recent assurances that he would like to close Guantanamo down. The transfer is an unequivocal step towards consolidating the prison for the long term. If the CIA agent who said that each Guantanamo prisoner inspired ten Muslims to become suicide bombers was correct, then imagine what will happen when Khalid Sheikh Mohamed is executed in Guantanamo a couple of years from now.

Nobody should fall for the latest gambit in Bush’s war on human rights. It is time to re-embrace the principle on which America was founded. Genuine respect for the rule of law will make everyone safer.