Obama considers Internment without trial...

On Sun, 24 May 2009 14:57:02 -0400, "WhiteWolf! <rayh<spam

... Where did I hear about that before? hmmm... Read on...

The New York Times is reporting :[1]

===
President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday
that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would
establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects
who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried...

“He was almost ruminating over the need for statutory change to the laws so
that we can deal with individuals who we can’t charge and detain,” one
participant said. “We’ve known this is on the horizon for many years, but we
were able to hold it off with George Bush. The idea that we might find ourselves
fighting with the Obama administration over these powers is really stunning.”

The other participant said Mr. Obama did not seem to be thinking about
preventive detention for terrorism suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay, but
rather for those captured in the future, in settings other than a legitimate
battlefield like Afghanistan.
===

What justification could their possibly be for refusing someone a trial?
Remember, there are well-established procedures for making sure that sensitive
information which would actually detrimental to national security if released is
kept away from the general public, such as "in camera" hearings (which is legal
talk for a hearing held "in chambers").

Is Obama saying that an American citizen living inside the United States
(America is presumably not a legitimate battlefield like Afghanistan - but see
[2]) can be indefinitely detained without trial because Obama considers him a
risk to national security?

What would constitute a risk to national security warranting detention?
Revealing alleged unlawful actions by the Bush administration? The Obama
administration? Criticizing Obama?

Will the former constitutional law professor (Obama) use his knowledge of the
law to safeguard the Constitution, or - like the authors of the torture memos -
to subvert it?

What say you?

Ray

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21obama.html?_r=2&emc=eta1

[2]
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/09/army-to-be-deployed-inside-us-as- part.html

--
The ONE and ONLY TRUE WHITEWOLF!!!
Web: http://whitewolf1963.blogspot.com/
Email: ray...@(remove)iol.ie
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