On 12/15/2011 12:01 PM, HeyBub wrote:

Unlawful enemy combatants (UEC) do not come under the jurisdiction of the
criminal law - they are not criminals. They are similar to POWs, but have
even fewer rights. Actually, they have no "rights" at all. Their handling is
solely up to the President under his Article II powers. Specifically, UECs
do not have a right to a lawyer, indictment by a grand jury, jury trials,
witnesses, remaining silent, or any of the other "rights" afforded
criminals.

Moreover, the President may designate ANYONE to be a UEC and, according to
the customary laws of war, dispose of them as he sees fit. In this regard,
UECs are similar to spies, fifth-columnists, guerrillas, and saboteurs. Our
very first UCE was Major John Andre who was hanged by George Washington
after a perfunctory inquiry.


I hope that is an over-simplification. What you are saying pertains to
the "customary laws of war" but since when can the President declare war
and since when are we at war with our own citizens? As far as I know,
the last time we were at war (per the Constitution) was in 1945 prior to
the Japanese surrender.

Following through with what you say, what is to keep the President from
designating his political opposition as UECs and deciding to "dispose of
them as he sees fit?" Even impeachment wouldn't protect against a
President gone wild because (according to your summary above) the
president could just declare all those who support his impeachment to be
UECs as well. Surely there's got to be some judicial mechanism
interposed to review the charges against those accused of being UECs,
even if it is a military court.