Nancy Pelosi Reacts To The Hamdan Decision
And she apparently doesn't even understand what is going on.
What a partisan hack.
Let me explain.
The problem here is not the military tribunals themselves but rather that the tribunal system that was to be used for these detainees was created by the Executive branch outside the military rules established by Congress. As I explained in an earlier post on this, it is the exclusive right of Congress to create federal court systems and write the rules for the military.
The Constitution made the President commander-in-chief of the military, but it tasked Congress with making the rules for the military. That means that while the President can order our military around, he cannot order it to do anything that is against the rules Congress has written. This includes ordering the military to try detainees through tribunals not allowed for in the rules as written by Congress.
Put simply, all the President has to do to sally forth with his plans to try Gitmo detainees in these military tribunals is get Congress to approve the tribunals. That's it. If grants the necessary approval everything can go forward.
This isn't nearly the defeat for Bush as some would have us believe.
To this point (unless I've missed something) Congress has not addressed the problem of how to try these detainees down in Cuba. Their lack of guidance has (in my opinion) forced the President to try to solve this problem through unilateral action. Unfortunately, this action is unconstitutional as the Supreme Court has now affirmed.
Now that it is clear that Congress must act in order for the detainees at Gitmo to get their day in court I fully expect the Democrats to oppose any attempt to either approve the President's plan for military tribunals or any other plan like it. Mostly, I think, because the reality of Gitmo is (whether you agree or not) a good political weapon for them, and they just can't have it going away.
WASHINGTON, June 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today following the United States Supreme Court decision that trying Guantanamo detainees before military commissions violates U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions:
"Today's Supreme Court decision reaffirms the American ideal that all are entitled to the basic guarantees of our justice system. This is a triumph for the rule of law.
"The rights of due process are among our most cherished liberties, and today's decision is a rebuke of the Bush Administration's detainee policies and a reminder of our responsibility to protect both the American people and our Constitutional rights. We cannot allow the values on which our country was founded to become a casualty in the war on terrorism."
What a partisan hack.
Let me explain.
The problem here is not the military tribunals themselves but rather that the tribunal system that was to be used for these detainees was created by the Executive branch outside the military rules established by Congress. As I explained in an earlier post on this, it is the exclusive right of Congress to create federal court systems and write the rules for the military.
The Constitution made the President commander-in-chief of the military, but it tasked Congress with making the rules for the military. That means that while the President can order our military around, he cannot order it to do anything that is against the rules Congress has written. This includes ordering the military to try detainees through tribunals not allowed for in the rules as written by Congress.
Put simply, all the President has to do to sally forth with his plans to try Gitmo detainees in these military tribunals is get Congress to approve the tribunals. That's it. If grants the necessary approval everything can go forward.
This isn't nearly the defeat for Bush as some would have us believe.
To this point (unless I've missed something) Congress has not addressed the problem of how to try these detainees down in Cuba. Their lack of guidance has (in my opinion) forced the President to try to solve this problem through unilateral action. Unfortunately, this action is unconstitutional as the Supreme Court has now affirmed.
Now that it is clear that Congress must act in order for the detainees at Gitmo to get their day in court I fully expect the Democrats to oppose any attempt to either approve the President's plan for military tribunals or any other plan like it. Mostly, I think, because the reality of Gitmo is (whether you agree or not) a good political weapon for them, and they just can't have it going away.
