Saturday, May 22, 2010

Thailand to Guantanamo Vs Thailand to Bagram

As of today, you will have significantly more rights if they fly you from Thailand to Guantanamo than from Thailand to Bagram.

Glenn Greenwald comments on a disturbing D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision (likely to be upheld if Obama's nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court is approved by the US Senate):
This is what Barack Obama has done to the habeas clause of the Constitution:  if you are in Thailand (as one of the petitioners in this case was) and the U.S. abducts you and flies you to Guantanamo, then you have the right to have a federal court determine if there is sufficient evidence to hold you.  If, however, President Obama orders that you be taken to from Thailand to Bagram rather than to Guantanamo, then you will have no rights of any kind, and he can order you detained there indefinitely without any right to a habeas review.  That type of change is so very inspiring -- almost an exact replica of his vow to close Guantanamo . . . all in order to move its core attributes (including indefinite detention) a few thousand miles North to Thompson, Illinois.
If you want to appreciate the full extent of the administration's hypocrisy, I suggest you read Greenwald's entire post.

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