A couple of months back, this space pondered how the Obama administration had maintained some of the more troubling habits of its predecessor, specifically its treatment, in a legal sense, of detainees in what is no longer officially referred to as the war on terror. Or, more accurately, this space linked to another article and let its author do the heavy pondering.
Well, it seems like Obama's inclination to hide behind state secrets laws as a means to deny detainees access to due process wasn't just a symptom of some early presidential jitters. As Bruce Fein has written in Slate, the Commander-In-Chief remains more than happy to bypass the justice system and lock alleged terrorists away, sans key.
Lest you think Fein is anti-Obama, consider this article from a couple years back, also in Slate, in which he calls for the head of former Vice President Dick Cheney on much the same grounds. Whether you agree or disagree with him, Fein has consistently defended his position that no administration, liberal or conservative, has the right to declare such sweeping powers for itself.
Coming from a man and a party that promised greater transparency along with other grand and positive changes, Obama's continuance of a legally and morally reprehensible detainment strategy is especially disappointing. And it highlights the dangers of allowing one president decide that the military necessities of the time require a break from the rule of law - that danger being that, once such a precedent is established, it's unlikely that the next leader is going to hand that power back.
No comments:
Post a Comment