Say Anything Blog

This is why nominations to the Federal Appeals Courts are important...

WASHINGTON(AP) - A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously against Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni.

More broadly it said that the 1949 Geneva Convention governing prisoners of war does not apply to al-Qaida and its members. That supports a key assertion of the Bush administration, which has faced international criticism for holding hundreds of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay without full POW protections.
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The Pentagon has argued that it is justified in using what it calls military commissions, or tribunals, to try terror suspects like Hamdan who were captured in the war in
Afghanistan because they are "enemy combatants."

Hamdan, who was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, denies conspiring to engage in acts of terrorism and denies he was a member of al-Qaida. His lawyers say that by working as bin Laden's driver he simply wanted to earn enough money to return to Yemen, buy his own vehicle and support his family as a driver.

This is great news. Basically, the appealette court has ruled that they have no jurisdiction in matters regarding war. It was a unanimous decision, which is even better. How anyone can argue that a terrorist captured overseas is guaranteed the same rights as you and I under the Constitution is beyond me...