Michel's Commentary by Michel Dresser

12/26/2001  888WebToday  Michel Dresser

 It is hard to think of three more liberal members of the United States Senate, than Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania, Tom Leahy of Vermont and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. Spector, the Republican, has joined his two Democratic colleagues in denouncing the military tribunal established by President Bush to round up the terrorists among us.
 
These three, liberal solons (means: a wise & skillful lawyer; a member of a legislation body), do not exactly say that the military tribunals are unconstitutional.  That would be a very hard case to make.  At one time or another, Washington, Lincoln, FDR and Truman all have instituted them.  In addition to a long standing precedent, there is also a Supreme Court decision upholding their constitutionality, which was handed down on February 4, 1946, at the end of WWII.
 
But the liberals will tell you that Congress has never declared war, so President Bush's authority to declare military tribunals cannot be properly invoked.  So, the Supreme Court decision and all the past precedents, which took place under a formal  declaration of war or rebellion, just doesn't apply!
 
It is true that Congress has not formally declared war against Afghanistan. However, Congress has formally authorized the President to use the armed forces of the United States to bring the terrorists to justice!  This ought to be good enough for even the finest legal hair-splitter.  Common sense tells us that the Founding Fathers, never intended us to be without the means to defend ourselves against an enemy.  Now, if the enemies are not a nation against which, Congress may declare war, what are we to do?  What if they are a band of terrorists called Al Qaida, supported by a political party called the Taliban?  Are we then supposed to turn the other cheek?
 
Obviously not!  Congress may approve, as it has approved, military action under the direction of the President.  When it does, it also approves, by implication, the use of all the extraordinary war powers at the President's disposal.  This includes military tribunals.
 
Otherwise, our ability to defend our nation would depend upon the absurdly irrelevant question of whether those who want to kill or enslave us have their flag and control a certain piece of real estate.
 
Don't forget that Osama declared war on us, with an official proclamation of Jihad over ten years ago!  We have been in a state of war with Al Qaida for a decade, whether we know it or not.
 
The military tribunals are empowered to try only terrorists connected with Al Qaida and only aliens.  Because they are aliens they are not entitled to the full protection of the Constitution.  The Supreme Court in 1946, turned down the appeal of Japanese General Yamashita, accused of slaughtering thousands of Philippine civilians during the fall of Manila in 1945. Yamashita contended that he was being denied his 5th Amendment Rights, the Supreme Court said he had none.  Yamashita was hanged.
 
It would be nice to see Osama dangling from the same scaffold some day soon.
 
And those are my thoughts..................
 

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