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Voices of Peace
West By Northwest.org
Which American citizen will be next to be labelled an "enemy
combatant", and thus summarily deprived of his/her civil rights? You? Me?
Please contact your public officials and the media on this issue. -- Bill Thomson
Dirty Bombs and Civil Rights
New York Times [Lead Editorial]
June 12, 2002
The word from Washington yesterday was that Abdullah al-Muhajir, the American citizen
accused of plotting a "dirty bomb" attack on the United States, may never
be given a trial, or at least not anytime soon. "We are not interested in trying
and punishing him at the moment," Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared
yesterday. "We are interested in finding out what he knows." What the Bush
administration must realize is that its job, even during these challenging times,
is to do both: to investigate terrorism while also protecting the constitutional
rights of those caught in the dragnet.
Mr. Muhajir is an American of Puerto Rican descent who was born Jose Padilla in Brooklyn,
grew up in Chicago and changed his name as part of his conversion to Islam. Federal
law enforcement officials contend that he became part of Al Qaeda's terrorist network,
and that he talked with network leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan about a plot
to build and detonate a radioactive bomb. Mr. Muhajir was taken into custody on May
8 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, upon returning from Pakistan.
It is difficult, at least at this point, to gauge the strength of the case against
Mr. Muhajir. He was picked up on a material witness warrant and has not been charged
with any crime. Law enforcement officials concede that whatever he might have been
plotting never got beyond the discussion stage. So far, the government has produced
no evidence that a dirty-bomb plot existed, or of Mr. Muhajir's role in one. We do,
however, have President Bush's assurance, given when he was meeting with members
of Congress at the White House yesterday, that "This guy Padilla is a bad guy."
If Mr. Muhajir's case had proceeded along the normal criminal-law path, it would
have triggered procedures designed to protect his rights. He was scheduled for a
hearing yesterday at which prosecutors might have had to decide whether to charge
him with a crime. And he would have been able to challenge his detention; a federal
judge in New York ruled recently that material witnesses cannot be held indefinitely.
Instead the government chose to label Mr. Muhajir, who is now in a high-security
jail in South Carolina, an "enemy combatant." The administration contends
that merely by labeling him in this way, it can hold him indefinitely.
The government's position is unacceptable. Our Constitution guarantees that those
suspected of crimes must be informed of the charges against them, be able to confront
their accusers, consult with a lawyer and have a speedy and open trial. But that
means very little if the government can revoke all those rights merely by labeling
someone a combatant. And as Mr. Mujahir's case shows, the government is prepared
to strip away the rights of American citizens as readily as those of foreigners.
The real problem with the government's approach is one that has been evident since
Sept. 11: The Bush administration has too little faith in the criminal justice system.
The government must be vigilant about fighting terrorism, but this war can be waged
without suspending the Constitution.
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