Do It The Right Way

The Supreme Court recently ruled against President Bush's attempt to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in the case of the detainees being held at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In Eugene Robinson's opinion column, "A Victory For The Rule of Law", http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/12/AR2008061203473.html he argues that the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling against the President's proposal of suspending habeas corpus was the correct decision. I tend to agree.

As Mr. Robinson states in his column, some of the detainees have been in incarceration for six years. Six years. I will be the first to say that if they have been found guilty and belong there, they can stay there. Forever. I have no patience nor feel remorse for any person that seeks to inflict pain or suffering on any of my countrymen. They have to be found guilty first though. Like it or not we are governed by rules and laws and we must abide by them. As an Iraqi war veteran, I also realize that it is at times EXTREMELY difficult to discern who the "bad guys" are while in a combat zone such as Iraq where enemy combatants are not uniformed. Our American forces are fighting an enemy that is virtually impossible to tell apart from the innocent civilians. Sorting out enemy combatants can be a very imperfect and time consuming ordeal. Nevertheless, it must be done. By suspending habeas corpus in Cuba, this task becomes an impossibility. How can any court determine the guilt or innocence of any man or woman if they are not afforded the opportunity to be represented by proper counsel and tried fairly?

A second point that Robinson makes in his column is that America does not have the right to arrest somebody just because they happen to fit the demographic profile of a terrorist. He likens the detaining of a suspected terrorist to the detaining of a suspected embezzler or armed robber. Apples to oranges Mr. Robinson. You cannot compare one to the other. As stated above, from personal experience in Iraq, I know that it is not often feasible to spot a suspected terrorist from a normal citizen. Sometimes all you can do is round them all up and find out who the enemy is. The fact that terrorists can, and HAVE, been responsible for the deaths of thousands of American lives leaves me with not a lot of remorse for this way of doing business. As long as the prisoners get a fair trial. To leave a prisoner to rot because he cannot prove his innocence is wrong and not our way.