War Zone--USA

Betcha didn't know that government officials are going on the record stating, unequivocally, that the territory of the United States is a "battlefield:"

RICHMOND, Va -- A government attorney argued today that America is a battlefield and President Bush therefore has the authority to detain enemy combatants indefinitely in this country.

Paul D. Clement, acting solicitor general of the United States, made the comments came as a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit here is considering whether to overturn a lower court ruling that Jose Padilla should be charged with a crime or released. In 2002, Padilla, a former Chicago gang member and Muslim convert, was taken into custody by the military and has been held without trial ever since...

The panel assigned to hear the arguments was Judge J. Michael Luttig of Alexandria, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, and two appointees of former President Clinton: Judge M. Blane Michael of Charleston, W.Va., and Judge William B. Traxler Jr. of Greenville, S.C.

The judges were most concerned with how to handle Padilla in light of the Supreme Court's ruling last year on Yaser Esam Hamdi. Another American citizen, Hamdi was captured by the military with Taliban forces in Afghanistan and placed in a Navy brig in Norfolk. The Supreme Court ruled that his detention was lawful, but he was entitled to a hearing to challenge the allegations against him.

But moments after Clement began his oral argument, Luttig interrupted to say that "arguably, Judge [Sandra Day] O'Connor in 'Hamdi' limited that law to the battlefield detention, did she not?" Padilla was picked up at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on a warrant from a federal court in New York, and only later turned over to the military.

"That's not how I would read the case," Clement responded.

Luttig repeatedly pressed Clement, even after the solicitor general noted that Padilla's alleged intentions as a soldier of al Qaeda -- to target civilians -- constituted "unlawful combatancy" even if he were on a battlefield in uniform.

"Those accusations don't get you very far," Luttig replied, "unless you're prepared to boldly say the United States is a battlefield in the war on terror."

Clement answered, "I can say that, and I can say it boldly."

But Michael said that Padilla wasn't captured anywhere near a battlefield. "You captured Padilla in a Manhattan jail cell," Michael said. "What, in the laws of war, allows you to undertake a non-battlefield capture and hold them for the duration? I don't think you cite anything."

Michael, addressing Clement's claim that America is a battlefield, then asked, "to call the United States a battlefield, wouldn't you have needed a specific authorization from Congress? It's not up to us as a court to develop laws of war."

Andrew G. Patel argued the case for Padilla, who has been held in a South Carolina brig for three years, and only last year was granted the right to meet with his attorneys. "I may be the first lawyer to stand here," Patel told the panel, "and say I'm asking for my client to be indicted by a federal grand jury."...

No date was set for when the panel might rule. The losing side could then ask that the entire Fourth Circuit rehear the case, and then the case is probably headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

After the hearing, Donna Newman, another of Padilla's lawyers, said, "We are quite confident that we will prevail because there simply is no authority for the president to detain an American citizen on American soil." She said, "If the traditional sense of what the battlefield is has changed, then we need Congress to come in. We do not let a president determine ad hoc what a battlefield is."

Well, let's hope that we don't let the president make an ad hoc determination as to what constitutes a "battlefield," particularly when those alleged to be ON the field are designated enemy combatants, and eligible for an all expenses paid permanent stay in Camp Delta or X-Ray. If that happens, you might as well just pack it up and say goodbye democracy and rule of law.

Geez--if Padilla, or, for that matter, anyone else is guilty of conspiracy, or attempted criminal action, then put the SOBs ON TRIAL and show the world two things--one, these are REALLY BAD people, and TWO, civilized societies have rules and procedures in place that ensure due process AND civil society. It's not that difficult.