Today a US district judge in Miami has dismissed one of three counts accounts Jose Padilla. The charge asserted that Padilla was involved in a plot to kidnap, murder and maim.

Since 2002, Jose Padilla (a US citizen) has been held after being picked up by law enforcement authorities in Chicago. Initially it was asserted that Padilla was suspected in a plot to unleash a radiological bomb in the United States. On these grounds the Bush Administration held Padilla as an enemy combatant in a military stockade. Padilla (a US citizen) was not only denied a trial but even access to legal counsel. The administration asserted the power to hold Padilla (without charge) for as long as they alone deemed necessary.

In 2005, the government finally brought charges against Padilla, who was then transferred to a civilian facility. When Padilla was charged it became apparent that the government’s assertions of a radiological (dirty) bomb plot where much ado about nothing. Padilla was subsequently charged with being part of a terrorist cell and raising money and recruiting new members as well as conspiring to “maim” people. Earlier this year the Supreme Court erred when it refused to hear the case, handing a victory to those who regard the constitution as little more than a convenient obstacle to be ignored.

The president is to be commended for standing firm in the face of Islamic terror, particularly in light of the appeasement minded mentality propagated by the left. Regardless of this the war on terror does not justify such extra-constitutional actions. This is a nation of laws not of men and that includes the president. A president cannot (and should not) on his own authority decide which citizens deserve to have their rights protected and which citizen’s rights can be ignored.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/21/padilla.charge/index.html


Recent Posts:

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/04/court-sets-dangerous-precedent.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/11/ordeal-of-jose-padilla.html