Thursday, July 27, 2006 | 7:40 a.m.
President Bush is pursuing legislation that would allow his and future administrations to conduct the type of military tribunals that the U.S. Supreme Court has called illegal.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales confirmed during a C-SPAN interview Wednesday that the Bush administration's draft proposal calls for indefinite detention of terrorist suspects and barring defendants from attending their own trials if deemed necessary to protect national security. It would also allow the use of hearsay evidence.
Although the administration's proposal bans evidence obtained by way of torture, it also voids a provision of the Geneva Conventions that allows suspects to file future lawsuits claiming their rights were violated.
Since this would apply to all terror suspects, it would mean that people who are wrongly accused of being terrorists have no recourse after the fact if they were mistreated while in custody. This violates the Supreme Court's June ruling that the international Geneva Conventions for prisoners do, in fact, apply to U.S. terror detainees.
The court also said that Congress is required to authorize any military tribunals established by the Pentagon, thwarting Bush's claim that the president's executive authority allowed him to establish the tribunals as he sees fit and without the consent of Congress. His draft legislation amounts to an end-run around the Supreme Court.
We hope the draft undergoes many changes as it is finalized. Our own Constitution should be its guide. As it promotes freedom and democracy around the world, the United States shouldn't prevent defendants from facing their accusers in court, deny them the right to a speedy trial or allow hearsay evidence to condemn them.
Those who say terrorism suspects are different because terrorism is threatening the United States are only half right. Terrorism is imperiling the freedoms and protections promised by our great nation. But it is also responsible for a fear-fueled philosophy that causes Bush and his administration to seek to act without the consent of Congress and to go beyond the bounds of our democracy's carefully crafted system of checks and balances.
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