Judge upholds detainee rights terror law

by GreenDreams:
In my opinion, this is terrible news for civil rights:

A federal judge upheld the Bush administration’s new torture terrorism law Wednesday, agreeing that Guantanamo Bay detainees do not have the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. courts.

“This is the first time in the history of this country that a court has held that a man may be held by our government in a place where no law applies,” said Barbara Olshansky, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has handled many detainee cases.

It’s also lousy for our military and diplomatic corps, who may receive similar treatment from other regimes, or for that matter perhaps just an American traveling abroad with a camera. We have defined the Rule of Law, and now we are in no position to dispute other countries holding Americans “in a place where no law applies” if their leader declares them to be enemy combatants. Indeed, presumably we would agree that all countries have that right. Right? Scary. The terrorists have won.