Barack Obama in The Test of our Times

On Homeland Security: Promises to close Guantanamo & treat prisoners as POWs

The Bush administration argued that because [prisoners at Guantanamo] are not state-sponsored, they are not entitled to the usual protections of the Geneva Convention, and have no rights to our time-honored (and constitutionally guaranteed) principle of habeas corpus. The Bush White House had been staunchly opposed to giving detainees access to civilian courts, later arguing that military tribunals sufficed. Constitutional lawyers argued--and the Supreme Court agreed--that such a position was impermissible and that habeas corpus extends to those captured in a time of war even if they don't fit into traditional categories.

President Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and remove the "unlawful enemy combatants" status from those detained. Both charges will accelerate resolution of the basic questions that remain: What is the adjudication process and what is the standard against which their actions will be measured to justify release?

Source: The Test of our Times, by Tom Ridge, p.144-145 Sep 1, 2009

The above quotations are from The Test of our Times: America Under Siege...And How We Can Be Safe Again, by Gov. Tom Ridge. Click here for other excerpts from The Test of our Times: America Under Siege...And How We Can Be Safe Again, by Gov. Tom Ridge. Click here for other excerpts by Barack Obama. Click here for a profile of Barack Obama.
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Feb 25, 2019