From Fox News on 07 March 2013:
Sen. Rand Paul declared victory Thursday after Attorney General Eric Holder assured him that the president cannot use a drone to kill a non-combatant American on U.S. soil — an assurance Paul had sought during his 13-hour filibuster the day before. …
Paul told Fox News the critical senators “think the whole world is a battlefield, including America.”
“I don’t think the laws of war apply to America. I think the Bill of Rights do,” Paul said.
Catch the last sentence that I quoted from the article. Senator Rand was completely convinced that the laws of war should not be, nay cannot be, applied within the United States of America. He made it clear, with the support of many Americans, that every American is entitled to their day in court, to their rights being protected by the Constitution of the United States of America. But, Senator Rand’s arguments often went farther. He was uncomfortable with the idea that drone attacks could be used against an USA citizen, even if that citizen were overseas. But if one were to check this comparison, it’d bring to light that only a very less percentage of drones are actually used for combative purposes. The only exception would be if the citizen were actually engaged in a firefight at the time the drone hit him, according to Original XK Detect X380-B RC Quadcopter RTF Drone Review. Catch his very important argument. His argument is that American citizens have rights that are protected in such a way that they are protected even when the rights of others are not protected in the same way. In other words, being an American citizen is a special matter that places you in a protected class.
Well, that was five and a half weeks ago. That was before the Boston Marathon and the bombings carried out by American citizens. Now that argument has completely been changed.
From Fox News on 20 April 2013:
Top Republican senators urged President Obama on Saturday to hold the suspect captured in the Boston Marathon bombing as a potential enemy combatant — denying him a government-appointed attorney and other legal rights under the “Law of War” so investigators can learn about other possible attacks.
“The events we have seen over the past few days in Boston were an attempt to kill American citizens and terrorize a major American city,” Sens. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina; John McCain, Arizona; and Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire, said. “The suspect, based upon his actions, clearly is a good candidate for enemy combatant status. We do not want this suspect to remain silent.” They were joined in the statement by New York Republican Rep. Peter King.
This should teach you something about the modern hyper-conservative politician. Do not rely on their arguments about their desire to protect your rights against the encroachments of a supposedly evil government. One day they will most certainly speak as though they wish to protect you against an encroaching government. The next day they will be the first in line to encroach upon your rights without thought under the heading of security. Notice that the hyper-conservative politician will encroach upon your rights even quicker than the supposed “liberal” that they claim is always around trying to take away your rights. Funny, how it is that very supposed “liberal” that is the one standing now to insist that every captured suspect has his/her rights regardless of the horror of the crime committed.
So, be careful when you listen to political arguments about what might happen. Rather, look at actual events of what has happened. A month ago hyper-conservatives were arguing about theoretical killings of American citizens by Air Force drones. These have never happened, nor was there any idea that they might happen. But, the nomination of the head of the CIA was delayed over this never-happened argument. Useless time was wasted on a non-argument, but all that time was supposedly important in order to ensure the defense of the American citizen. A month later, real terrorism happens, and hyper-conservatives jump to the fore and begin to argue against the rights of an American citizen. The prisoner’s rights must be taken away. He must not be allowed to see a lawyer, even though he is an American citizen.
So, don’t listen to what an American hyper-conservative politician says. Look only at what s/he does because they are about to take away some of your rights.
A very well thought out piece…congratulations.
Dzokhar Tsarnaev was denied his Miranda rights based on a “public safety exception” and this is expected to remain in place even after he has recovered enough to answer questions, and heavily guarded.
Also, senators are using language like “The suspect, based upon his actions, clearly is a good candidate for enemy combatant status. We do not want this suspect to remain silent.”
So it looks like torture is on the table as an option.
This guy is a U.S. citizen. Has Abu Ghraib has come to America?
The simple answer is, “yes.”
Ted, my first thought when I found out he’d been taken alive was “Now for the five-year trial and twenty years of ACLU appeals.” Or “They knew he was hiding in the boat — how long does it take to scramble a drone with a Hellfire?” And I couldn’t have been the only one. There’;s going to be a LOT of popular support for not only an Abu Ghraib, but Abu Ghraib under Baba Saddam, when Uday would stop by to “amuse himself”. Enough of the Multicultural Diversity and Religion of Peace lectures delivered with wagging fingers and scolding-the-stupid-child voices by Our Betters, and starting with Vlad Tepes and getting creative from there sounds better and better by the day.
HUG, I know you oppose a 1984 society as much as I do. Waiting him out and taking him alive in the boat was necessary; we need to get information from him. But not reading him his Miranda rights, and not treating him like the U.S. citizen that he is will guarantee the complications of an ACLU appeal, and will make our own rights less secure. They need to do the job legally. The guy is going to spend the rest of his life in prison, there’s no question about that. We can’t short-cut the process or we’ll all pay later.
The prisoner’s rights must be taken away. He must not be allowed to see a lawyer, even though he is an American citizen.
So, don’t listen to what an American hyper-conservative politician says. Look only at what s/he does because they are about to take away some of your rights.
And there will be much rah-rah cheering. Maybe I’m watching too much Game of Thrones, but it’s never been a problem as long as your side becomes the one holding the whip.
And these are American Fundagelicals. Rights? Remember all those tracts? “We have NO rights EXCEPT TO DESERVE ETERNAL HELL!!!!!!!!” I do. That’s the background God’s Own Party faithful are coming from.