« Music for running | Main | Robin Hood »
September 10, 2005
Enemy combatants
Granted if what they print about him is true, Jose Padilla has plotted some nasty indiscriminate killings and is not the kind of guy you want going about his planned business. But if it's true, why don't we charge him with something?
There's an article about the court decision on WashingtonPost.com. It's interesting that our laws led the court to conclude with judge Luttig that:
the President of the United States possesses the authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with al-Qaida, an entity with which the United States is at war
Presumably they don't have enough to accuse this guy with breaking the law. Maybe it's like that guy that ran from the British police after the bombings there: He looks suspect. They've therefore locked him up for three years. Hey, if you're him, maybe that's better than getting shot.
Padilla was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in 2002 after returning from Pakistan. The federal government has said he was trained in weapons and explosives by members of al-Qaida.
Al-Qaida. We're not at war with something identifiable by people outside the fighting. Think about that. Everything you know about al-Qaida originated either with either freaks who think blowing up people will make the world a better place, or with people you have absolutely no reason at all to distrust, namely politicians. It's like being at war with the Illuminati.
WashingtonPost.com says only two citizens have been designated as enemy combatants, so I guess there's not much reason to worry. Especially if you're pretty obviously not part of al-Qaida or the Illuminati.
Posted by Mark at September 10, 2005 08:04 PM