Vicious Rants of an Angry Yellow Man

The Supreme Court rejected the Bush administration's claim that the President can make the rules in an unconventional war. While this may not help any innocent prisoners get out earlier, it does at least slow down the ability of the administration to use 9/11 to increase the power of the executive branch. Guantanamo Bay, surveillance of phone calls and bank transactions may very well be necessary in the war against terrorism but the way the administration carried them out shows a disregard for laws and the separation of power between the branches of government.

The wiretaps could have been done legally by simply getting warrants. The warrants can be obtained retrospectively if the government had to act before there was time to reach a judge. By putting in new rules that allow the NSA to bypass the court at will doesn't help fight terrorism. It was just an act of arrogance. The same with the bank transactions. It would be easy to get approval from Congress and the courts to make everything legal. By not going through the legal channels, the administration is trying to make the executive branch much more powerful than the other two branches.

By not giving the prisoners at Guantanomo American justice or justice according to the Geneva convention, it will lead to more terrorism against us. It is a lot easier for the bad guys to recruit people when they can point to Muslims that America only believe in justice for their own people. There are bound to be many prisoners who were not guilty of terrorism who are still detained without trials after several years. The long length of their incarceration will be used as a recruiting tool against us. Even if they had some connection with Al Qaeda, their usefullness as an information source is nil by now. If this is "24" they would be released long time ago and followed to see if they go back to their organization. (I watch too much t.v.) I think the administration does not have enough evidence to convict most of these people and they don't want to lose in court so they want to just keep them in prison until the war on terrorism ends. Of course the war of terrorism has no ending. Eventually, I believe, most of these prisoners will be released and Guantanomo will be closed after a new president takes office. It will be a black eye in the history of America justice.