Subscribe!Both CNN and the BBC have reported Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's opposition to rights for Guantanamo Bay detainees. It is appalling to hear the arguments and statements by him:
| "War is war, and it has never been the
case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts,"
he is quoted as saying.
"Give me a break." "If he was captured by my army on a battlefield, that is where he belongs. I had a son (Matthew Scalia) on that battlefield and they were shooting at my son and I'm not about to give this man who was captured in a war a full jury trial. I mean it's crazy." |
We here in the United States actually have a Supreme Court Justice making emotional arguments rather than logical ones that take basic human rights into consideration. "Give me a break."? What kind of speech is that from a Supreme Court Justice? While we are at war and full jury trial may not be possible (and the precedent not there), we must recognize that this is a new kind of war. We are the ones setting precedent for this type of war, and this precedent should include basic human rights as its foundation. The people detained at Guantanamo are real people and should have some recourse to question their detainment ( I've already written about this in a previous post, "Disturbing echoes from history"). The capture of people during war is not perfect, especially given the highly questionable way in which some of the detainees were captured. We have a man sitting on the Supreme Court who it seems is poised to set dangerous precedents for our country. Let's hope he gives us a break. I mean, it's crazy.
