Thursday, January 12, 2012

A system that doesn't work



Is this all true? How would we know? We don't take these people to court. We don't give them a trial. We don't let them have representation. Our government can do anything it wants and keep it all a secret. So how would we know?

Once they're taken to Gitmo, often on extremely flimsy evidence, that's it. And now they can take American citizens there, too. They can even take American citizens arrested on American soil. No trial. No habeas corpus. No rights at all. Whomever government officials want to lock up, they can.

President Obama did try to close Gitmo, I'll give him that. Of course, the Republicans wouldn't go along with it. The Republicans automatically oppose anything the president wants to do. And the Democrats themselves were too cowardly to support him in this. Big surprise, huh?

But Obama gave up pretty easily, too. You know, he should never give up. He's supposed to be a constitutional scholar, so let's see him stand up for the constitution!

Republicans are going to hate him no matter what he does, so why doesn't he stand up and fight for our side? I don't care if the rest of the Democrats are complete cowards. I don't care if it's unpopular. I don't care if Fox "News" goes ballistic. They will, anyway.

This was one of the great errors, one of the great tragedies of the Bush administration. We must close Gitmo! And if Obama can't close Gitmo, then he should never stop trying.

The fact that he failed doesn't bother me, not really. What bothers me is the fact that he gave up.

The American system of justice works. But what we're doing in Gitmo isn't American, isn't justice, and doesn't work.

No comments: