viscousmemories
09-16-2004, 02:42 AM
I discussed this with godfry somewhere around here awhile ago, but I can't find the stupid thread now. Anyway it came up over at IIDB today, so I did a little research and then posted this:
Actually I've kinda answered my own question. It took a lot of digging around via Google, but I think I've finally pieced together the bulk of what has gone down since this story broke in 2002.
Apparently it all started with the Wall Street Journal article reprinted here (http://www.loper.org/~george/archives/2002/Aug/73.html). In it you'll find:
"Suspected terrorists Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi -- now being held in Navy brigs without bail, charges, access to attorneys or the right to remain silent -- may soon have company.
Stung by the courtroom circus that yet another accused terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui, has created, and the aggressive defense marshaled by John Walker Lindh before he plea-bargained his way out of life in prison, the Bush administration is preparing to expand its policy of indefinitely detaining in U.S. military jails people it designates as "enemy combatants." Such prisoners -- whether American or foreign -- aren't afforded the same constitutional rights as criminal defendants, or even the limited rights allowed in military tribunals.
The White House is considering creating a high-level committee to decide which prisoners should be denied access to federal courts. The Goose Creek, S.C., facility that houses Mr. Padilla -- mostly empty since it was designated in January to hold foreigners facing military tribunals -- now has a special wing that could be used to jail about 20 U.S. citizens if the government were to deem them enemy combatants, a senior administration official said.
Apparently, it was that article that inspired LA Times writer Jonathon Turley to write his Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision (http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0814-05.htm) on which most of the other articles I've found are based.
This was allegedly confirmed by Turley himself in an e-mail to this guy (http://rightwingnews.com/john/camp.php), who claims that Turley wrote:
"The quick answer to your question is that no formal policy has been issued. The disclosure of the proposal first appeared in the Wall Street Journal on August 8th with confirmation from various unnamed aides to Ashcroft. Since the op-ed in the LA Times, various newspapers have confirmed the story and the internal deliberations over the structure and locations of such camps. The WSJ article has never been denied. There was no formal statement issued by Ashcroft and members of Congress are now inquiring into the status of the proposal. I hope that this helps."
Another presumably reputable source, FindLaw, has an article by Asst. Law Professor Anita Ramasastry who cites both the WSJ article and the LA Times:
Jose Padilla is currently being held in a Naval Brig at Goose Creek, South Carolina. The Goose Creek facility has plenty of vacancies. Indeed, according to a Wall Street Journal report, it has a special wing that could be used to jail up to twenty U.S. citizens deemed "enemy combatants" by the government.
And Goose Creek may not be the only location. An LA Times editorial recently suggested that the proposal for detention camps is broader.
This recent article (http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/hamilton/20040701.html) by Marci Hamilton at FindLaw gives a brief summary of how the relevant cases (Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld v. Padilla, and Rasul v. Bush) turned out, and what it means for the future of "enemy combatant" status.
In short I think there are still definitely constitutional issues here to be worried about, but I still have seen no evidence for any existing plan to use any particular facilities across the country as internment camps for a mass round-up of American citizens.
Actually I've kinda answered my own question. It took a lot of digging around via Google, but I think I've finally pieced together the bulk of what has gone down since this story broke in 2002.
Apparently it all started with the Wall Street Journal article reprinted here (http://www.loper.org/~george/archives/2002/Aug/73.html). In it you'll find:
"Suspected terrorists Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi -- now being held in Navy brigs without bail, charges, access to attorneys or the right to remain silent -- may soon have company.
Stung by the courtroom circus that yet another accused terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui, has created, and the aggressive defense marshaled by John Walker Lindh before he plea-bargained his way out of life in prison, the Bush administration is preparing to expand its policy of indefinitely detaining in U.S. military jails people it designates as "enemy combatants." Such prisoners -- whether American or foreign -- aren't afforded the same constitutional rights as criminal defendants, or even the limited rights allowed in military tribunals.
The White House is considering creating a high-level committee to decide which prisoners should be denied access to federal courts. The Goose Creek, S.C., facility that houses Mr. Padilla -- mostly empty since it was designated in January to hold foreigners facing military tribunals -- now has a special wing that could be used to jail about 20 U.S. citizens if the government were to deem them enemy combatants, a senior administration official said.
Apparently, it was that article that inspired LA Times writer Jonathon Turley to write his Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision (http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0814-05.htm) on which most of the other articles I've found are based.
This was allegedly confirmed by Turley himself in an e-mail to this guy (http://rightwingnews.com/john/camp.php), who claims that Turley wrote:
"The quick answer to your question is that no formal policy has been issued. The disclosure of the proposal first appeared in the Wall Street Journal on August 8th with confirmation from various unnamed aides to Ashcroft. Since the op-ed in the LA Times, various newspapers have confirmed the story and the internal deliberations over the structure and locations of such camps. The WSJ article has never been denied. There was no formal statement issued by Ashcroft and members of Congress are now inquiring into the status of the proposal. I hope that this helps."
Another presumably reputable source, FindLaw, has an article by Asst. Law Professor Anita Ramasastry who cites both the WSJ article and the LA Times:
Jose Padilla is currently being held in a Naval Brig at Goose Creek, South Carolina. The Goose Creek facility has plenty of vacancies. Indeed, according to a Wall Street Journal report, it has a special wing that could be used to jail up to twenty U.S. citizens deemed "enemy combatants" by the government.
And Goose Creek may not be the only location. An LA Times editorial recently suggested that the proposal for detention camps is broader.
This recent article (http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/hamilton/20040701.html) by Marci Hamilton at FindLaw gives a brief summary of how the relevant cases (Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld v. Padilla, and Rasul v. Bush) turned out, and what it means for the future of "enemy combatant" status.
In short I think there are still definitely constitutional issues here to be worried about, but I still have seen no evidence for any existing plan to use any particular facilities across the country as internment camps for a mass round-up of American citizens.