Military Trials for Terrorists
President Bush apparently does not have faith in the American justice system. His order to try “terrorists†in military tribunals--allowing hearsay evidence and limiting defendants’ rights to those OKd by the secretary of Defense--is disturbing (Nov. 14). As a precedent, its use without being framed by a declared war with an identified enemy is downright frightening.
Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft claims terrorists do not deserve the protections of the American Constitution. Well, as satisfying as that sounds, someone should take Ashcroft aside and explain that the very premise of having a Constitution is that individual men in powerful offices don’t get to decide who gets to enjoy the rights conferred and who doesn’t on a case-by-case basis. In fact, the presidential order uses language so broad that any criminal suspect in the U.S. could be included.
It would be a shame if our quest for justice became a rage for vengeance, and if we let that rage cause us to abandon the very constitutional values so many generations have fought to defend. I believe our constitutional rights and the functioning of our courts will not inhibit or deny Americans justice against the perpetrators of terror, no matter how heinous.
Roger Templeton
Santa Monica
*
Each passing day brings more news to my doorstep heralding the twilight of democracy in America: Ashcroft trashes attorney-client privilege and allows those caught up in his anti-terror dragnet, over 1,000 we are told, to be held incommunicado; a renowned civil libertarian like Alan Dershowitz calmly makes the argument for “legal†torture; and President Bush issues an order as commander in chief that lays the groundwork for military tribunals, secret evidence and summary executions.
Adding insult to injury is our vaunted fourth estate, which allows itself to be spoon-fed by the Department of Defense and essentially edited by Condoleezza Rice, all while being swept up in a tide of flag-waving jingoism as empty as it is nauseating. Buried under the fold and in the back pages is an even more startling admission: that George W. Bush would not be president had the voters of Florida, and America, had their votes counted properly (Nov. 12)!
Stephen Lemons
Burbank
*
The new conservative creed: “When we’re not in power, government is bad. When we’re in power, we do any damn thing we want.â€
Jody Kepple
Simi Valley
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