The Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Myth of National Security

By Eric Marcarelli

Another nail was driven into the coffin of the US Constitution as The Military Commissions Act of 2006 was signed by Bush on October 17, 2006. The Act formally defines a new category of people: "unlawful enemy combatants" who essentially have no rights according to the US government. Under the provisions of the Act, an unlawful enemy combatant is defined as "a person who, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the President or the Secretary of Defense." Such people are then afforded no rights under the Geneva Conventions or the US Constitution. Capturing violent criminals who have infringed on the rights of others is a good thing, but unless a person has been proven guilty in a public trial they cannot be assumed guilty of a crime. If the government truly has the evidence to support arrests, why should they not make that evidence public? It is amazing to me that the American people can blindly take the government's word that everyone labeled as an enemy combatant is guilty. It is a tragedy that Americans are conned into believing this Act will make them more secure. Nation Security is myth-one need only consider the violence in Iraq to see this. If the US military patrolling the streets cannot stop attacks, then how can anything protect the American people from a truly determined enemy? In fact, the government in its increasing power is the true threat. Although some make the claim that the Act only applies to aliens, the only difference between the treatment of aliens and citizens is the suspension of habeas corpus. Nothing in the text of the laws forbids the government from assigning the status of enemy combatant to a citizen. Indeed, at least three American citizens have already received the label. In any case, the Constitution was not, as it is often interpreted today, intended to apply only to citizens-it was intended to handle the government's interaction with all people. Trading liberty for security is impossible; liberty can only be traded for oppression and the illusion of security. As Benjamin Franklin said, "They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."