September 9th, it was ruled that Jose Padilla was still not to be given fair trial, in fact not to be charged with a crime nor to be given legal council. It’s the first time this has ever happened in the US court system (to my knowledge)… Even actual “enemy combatants” in our previous wars, captured on the battlefield all got lawyers and full legal procedings. Our courts were used, to verify and justify and validate. Now we are tossing out the most fundimental rules of our system against a US citizen who has been held for over 3 years.
For more informaiton on this I strongly recommend you listen to at least the first act of the This American Life – episode 229 called “secret government”.
I understand most people may be wary of honestly thinking our government is stripping away some of the foundations of our rights, while others are sure it’s been happening for years. I fear I may be in the later category, but the Jose Padilla issue is one of the most prominently displayed suspension of rights for an American Citizen that’s I’ve heard of. Check out the wikipedia article on him for a discussion of the articles of the Geniva Convention which covers enemy combatants.