Augusto Pinochet would be proud

[fastpat]

Augusto Bush
October 4, 2006 01:56 PM

Writes attorney Bill Watkins on the Military Commissions Act of 2006: "It seems pretty apparent to me that part (ii) of the following definition of an 'unlawful enemy combatant' simply means anyone whom the President or Rumsfeld designates as such:

"'Section 948a (1) -- The term 'unlawful enemy combatant' means – (i) a person who has engaged in hostilities or who has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its co-belligerents who is not a lawful enemy combatant (including a person who is part of the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or associated forces); or (ii) a person who, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the president or the secretary of defense.'

"Notice that the title of the Act refers to Commissions, plural. There may be one commission for Arabs, one for Democrats, one for Catholics, one for smokers, one for left handed people, etc. You are either with them or against them. And, once detained as an unlawful enemy combatant you can now be tortured, thanks to the Act.

"Part (i) of the definition of an 'unlawful enemy combatant' goes way beyond 'combat.' Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Jonah Goldberg would cheer if GWB used the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to silence opposition. Last week I actually heard Limbaugh ridiculing those who worry about the concept of Habeus Corpus, because, after all, Abraham Lincoln suspended Habeus Corpus, and he is regarded as one of our best Presidents.

"Once the 'Decider' signs the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the establishment of a dictatorship in the U.S. will be official. Augusto Pinochet would be proud, or perhaps envious."

[fastpat]

An additional opinion piece on this new leader principle (originally known as the fuhrer prinzip) law.

Fatal Vision: The Deeper Evil Behind the Detainee Bill

by Chris Floyd

I.

It was a dark hour indeed last Thursday when the United States Senate voted to end the constitutional republic and transform the country into a "Leader-State," giving the president and his agents the power to capture, torture and imprison forever anyone – American citizens included – whom they arbitrarily decide is an "enemy combatant." This also includes those who merely give "terrorism" some kind of "support," defined so vaguely that many experts say it could encompass legal advice, innocent gifts to charities or even political opposition to US government policy within its draconian strictures.

All of this is bad enough – a sickening and cowardly surrender of liberty not seen in a major Western democracy since the Enabling Act passed by the German Reichstag in March 1933. But it is by no means the full extent of our degradation. In reality, the darkness is deeper, and more foul, than most people imagine. For in addition to the dictatorial powers of seizure and torment given by Congress on Thursday to George W. Bush – powers he had already seized and exercised for five years anyway, even without this fig leaf of sham legality – there is a far more sinister imperial right that Bush has claimed – and used – openly, without any demur or debate from Congress at all: ordering the "extrajudicial killing" of anyone on earth that he and his deputies decide – arbitrarily, without charges, court hearing, formal evidence, or appeal – is an "enemy combatant."

That's right; from the earliest days of the Terror War – September 17, 2001, to be exact – Bush has claimed the peremptory power of life and death over the entire world. If he says you're an enemy of America, you are. If he wants to imprison you and torture you, he can. And if he decides you should die, he'll kill you. This is not hyperbole, liberal paranoia, or "conspiracy theory": it's simply a fact, reported by the mainstream media, attested by senior administration figures, recorded in official government documents – and boasted about by the president himself, in front of Congress and a national television audience.

And although the Republic-snuffing act just passed by Congress does not directly address Bush's royal prerogative of murder, it nonetheless strengthens it and enshrines it in law. For the measure sets forth clearly that the designation of an "enemy combatant" is left solely to the executive branch; neither Congress nor the courts have any say in the matter. When this new law is coupled with the existing "Executive Orders" authorizing "lethal force" against arbitrarily designated "enemy combatants," it becomes, quite literally, a license to kill – with the seal of Congressional approval.
Read the full article

[lendaddy]

Augusto Pinochet...ahhhhh He was dreamy

[Eric 951]

Pincochet...I always wondered what happened to that scamp after he became a real boy.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by lendaddy
Augusto Pinochet...ahhhhh He was dreamy

Almost like your vision of Bush II.