Editor,
Last week, President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which gives the president extreme powers over those he arbitrarily labels enemy combatants. This can be anyone who the government has a suspicion of involvement in terrorism, which could conceivably include giving money to the wrong charity, associating with the wrong people or hindering the war effort by protesting government's policies.
This bill goes even further than the Sedition Act of 1918, which was then used successfully to put people behind bars simply for protesting U.S. involvement in World War I.
The bill also strips habeas corpus from anyone labeled an enemy combatant - U.S. citizens, immigrants and terrorists alike. This goes against our very Constitution in which Article I Section 8 states, "The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
Habeas corpus is one of the longest standing elements of our English legal system, which the Supreme Court hailed as "the fundamental instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and lawless state action." It allows one to petition the court about the legality of one's imprisonment as a matter of law.
While this bill was sold by Bush as applicable only to non-Americans, the language allows it to be used against U.S. citizens, meaning if labeled enemy combatant, you won't have the right to petition any civilian court but will instead be in the secret military commission system. Do you trust your government or the next administration that will inherit this tool to use it wisely and only on the terrorists? Such power is not meant for democracies, but dictatorships.
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This bill shamefully pardoned the president, vice president, CIA and Congress for their prior acts of torture, and it legalized the use of evidence gained by torture in the courtroom. The president also now has sole power in interpreting the Geneva Conventions' definition of torture.
Imagine our soldiers captured in a future war and tortured, all because another country chose to follow our example and define torture in a manner that fits its circumstances. Torture is immoral, un-American, and it makes us less secure.
Rep. Heather Wilson and Sen. Pete Domenici voted in favor of this bill, while Rep. Tom Udall and Sen. Jeff Bingaman voted against it. I urge you to write your legislators. This bill simply must be repealed if we are to be a beacon of freedom and democracy for the world.
Nick Engquist
UNM student
