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Article: Protecting liberty in a permanent war.(COMMENTARY)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- June 25, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Ted Galen Carpenter, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
With the detention of Jose Padilla (a k a Abdullah al Mujahir), the Bush administration has made an extraordinary assertion of power. It is sweeping and unnerving. The administration contends that, by merely designating a person as an "enemy combatant," the government can hold him in prison without according him a trial. Indeed, the government does not have to charge him with any criminal offense, much less present evidence of an offense. That is true even if the person in question is a U.S. citizen and is apprehended on U.S. soil.
Civil libertarians are justifiably alarmed at such an ominous ...