Shredded Constitution

I read an AP article today that everyone should read. I've seen it in several papers, here is the link to one such, in the LA Times.

The story tells of three men, two U.S. citizens and one "legal resident" who have all been held in "military prisons" on U.S. soil but denied their basic Constitutional rights. (According to a different article I read on the topic, these brigs were in Virginia and South Carolina.)

One of the men, according to a military officer, was "being driven nearly insane by months of punishing isolation and sensory deprivation." According to the article, the military was ordered to treat Americans the same way as prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

All three men were interrogated by the CIA. Denied access to attorneys, mail and any human contact but for guards and interrogators. Under Bush Administration orders, they were held as "enemy combatants" for years of interrogations without criminal charges. Remember, two of these men were American citizens, and all three were being held on American soil.

To me, it is immaterial whether any of these men or all of them were ultimately terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. One of the three was released to Saudi Arabia on condition that he renounce his American citizenship, so essentially an American citizen was effectively deported from the country.

And yet there are still people in this country who think that the Bush Administration has been just great for this country. Indeed, a few of these people perhaps should consider what it would be like if they, themselves were picked up, accused of being terrorists or sympathizers, held for years without access to natural light or their families, interrogated regularly, and then finally offered the chance to get out but only if they'd leave the U.S. and renounce their citizenship.

Apparently, the Bush Administration thinks that's perfectly reasonable. I think it's another reason why large numbers of the Administration, from Bush and Cheney on down, should be in prison for life for wanton abuse of power.

Liam.