<\/a><\/h4>\nThink Progress \u00bb Scalia: Court\u2019s Decision Restoring Habeas \u2018Will Almost Certainly Cause More Americans To Be Killed\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n![\"scalia32.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/wp-content\/mine\/2008\/06\/scalia32.jpg\")
In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that habeas corpus protections apply<\/a> to detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. \u201cWe hold these petitioners do have the habeas corpus privilege,\u201d wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the majority opinion. The decision was a \u201ca stunning blow<\/a> to the Bush Administration in its war-on-terrorism policies,\u201d SCOTUS Blog noted.<\/p>\nConservative Justice Antonin Scalia, however, is outraged. In his dissenting opinion<\/a>, he devoted an entire section to \u201ca description of the disastrous consequences<\/a> of what the Court has done today,\u201d a procedure \u201ccontrary to my usual practice,\u201d he admitted. Scalia adopted extreme rhetoric about the impacts of the decision, calling it a \u201cself-invited<\/a>\u2026incursion into military affairs\u201d that would \u201calmost certainly\u201d kill Americans. Some lowlights<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\u2013 \u201cAmerica is at war with radical Islamists.<\/strong> \u2026 Our Armed Forces are now in the field against the enemy, in Afghanistan and Iraq.\u201d <\/p>\n\u2013 \u201cThe game of bait-and-switch that today\u2019s opinion plays upon the Nation\u2019s Commander in Chief will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed<\/strong>.\u201d <\/p>\n\u2013 \u201cToday the Court warps our Constitution<\/strong>.\u201d <\/p>\n\u2013 \u201cThe Nation will live to regret<\/strong> what the Court has done today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nIt is unlikely that the Supreme Court\u2019s decision will have the impacts that Scalia claims. As Kennedy explained, \u201cLiberty and security<\/a> can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law.\u201d Discussing the restoration of habeas at Guantanamo last year, Colin Powell noted<\/a>: <\/p>\n\nThe concern was, well, then they\u2019ll have access to lawyers, then they\u2019ll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. <\/strong>Isn\u2019t that what our system\u2019s all about? And by the way, America, unfortunately, has too many people in jail, all of whom had lawyers and access to writs of habeas corpus. And so we can handle bad people in our system.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBut as a cheerleader<\/a> for the administration\u2019s terrorism policies, Scalia\u2019s rhetoric isn\u2019t surprising. It is \u201cabsurd\u201d to say that you \u201ccan\u2019t stick something under the fingernails<\/a>,\u201d or \u201csmack [a detainee] in the face,\u201d he said in February. \u201cNo. To the contrary<\/a>,\u201d Scalia said when asked whether torture violates the \u201ccruel and unusual punishment\u201d clause.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThink Progress \u00bb Scalia: Court\u2019s Decision Restoring Habeas \u2018Will Almost Certainly Cause More Americans To Be Killed\u2019<\/a><\/p>\nMcClatchy Washington Bureau | 06\/15\/2008 | America’s prison for terrorists often held the wrong men<\/a><\/p>\nAn eight-month McClatchy investigation in 11 countries on three continents
\nhas found that Akhtiar was one of dozens of men \u2014 and, according to several officials, perhaps hundreds \u2014 whom the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments<\/strong>.<\/p>\nMcClatchy interviewed 66 released detainees, more than a dozen local officials \u2014 primarily in Afghanistan \u2014 and U.S. officials with intimate knowledge of the detention program. The investigation also reviewed thousands of pages of U.S. military tribunal documents and other records.<\/p>\n
This unprecedented compilation shows that most of the 66 were low-level Taliban grunts, innocent Afghan villagers or ordinary criminals<\/span>. At least seven had been working for the U.S.-backed Afghan government and had no ties to militants, according to Afghan local officials. In effect, many of the detainees posed no danger to the United States or its allies.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe investigation also found that despite the uncertainty about whom they were holding, U.S. soldiers beat and abused many prisoners.<\/p>\n
Prisoner mistreatment became a regular feature in cellblocks and interrogation rooms at Bagram and Kandahar air bases, the two main way stations in Afghanistan en route to Guantanamo.<\/p>\n
While he was held at Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base, Akhtiar said, “When I had a dispute with the interrogator, when I asked, ‘What is my crime?’ the soldiers who took me back to my cell would throw me down the stairs.”<\/p>\n
The McClatchy reporting also documented how U.S. detention policies fueled support for extremist Islamist groups. For some detainees who went home far more militant than when they arrived, Guantanamo became a school for jihad, or Islamic holy war.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nIt’s as if BushCo’s goal was to add fuel to the global fire and guarantee a generation of international warfare. Madness? Yes. peace, mjh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scalia is the most intemperate, least judicial hot-head. peace, mjh Think Progress \u00bb Scalia: Court\u2019s Decision Restoring Habeas \u2018Will Almost Certainly Cause More Americans To Be Killed\u2019 In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that habeas corpus protections apply to detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. \u201cWe hold these petitioners do have the habeas … Continue reading Impeach Scalia!<\/span>
Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, however, is outraged. In his dissenting opinion<\/a>, he devoted an entire section to \u201ca description of the disastrous consequences<\/a> of what the Court has done today,\u201d a procedure \u201ccontrary to my usual practice,\u201d he admitted. Scalia adopted extreme rhetoric about the impacts of the decision, calling it a \u201cself-invited<\/a>\u2026incursion into military affairs\u201d that would \u201calmost certainly\u201d kill Americans. Some lowlights<\/a>: <\/p>\n \u2013 \u201cAmerica is at war with radical Islamists.<\/strong> \u2026 Our Armed Forces are now in the field against the enemy, in Afghanistan and Iraq.\u201d <\/p>\n \u2013 \u201cThe game of bait-and-switch that today\u2019s opinion plays upon the Nation\u2019s Commander in Chief will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed<\/strong>.\u201d <\/p>\n \u2013 \u201cToday the Court warps our Constitution<\/strong>.\u201d <\/p>\n \u2013 \u201cThe Nation will live to regret<\/strong> what the Court has done today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It is unlikely that the Supreme Court\u2019s decision will have the impacts that Scalia claims. As Kennedy explained, \u201cLiberty and security<\/a> can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law.\u201d Discussing the restoration of habeas at Guantanamo last year, Colin Powell noted<\/a>: <\/p>\n The concern was, well, then they\u2019ll have access to lawyers, then they\u2019ll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. <\/strong>Isn\u2019t that what our system\u2019s all about? And by the way, America, unfortunately, has too many people in jail, all of whom had lawyers and access to writs of habeas corpus. And so we can handle bad people in our system.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But as a cheerleader<\/a> for the administration\u2019s terrorism policies, Scalia\u2019s rhetoric isn\u2019t surprising. It is \u201cabsurd\u201d to say that you \u201ccan\u2019t stick something under the fingernails<\/a>,\u201d or \u201csmack [a detainee] in the face,\u201d he said in February. \u201cNo. To the contrary<\/a>,\u201d Scalia said when asked whether torture violates the \u201ccruel and unusual punishment\u201d clause.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Think Progress \u00bb Scalia: Court\u2019s Decision Restoring Habeas \u2018Will Almost Certainly Cause More Americans To Be Killed\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n McClatchy Washington Bureau | 06\/15\/2008 | America’s prison for terrorists often held the wrong men<\/a><\/p>\n An eight-month McClatchy investigation in 11 countries on three continents McClatchy interviewed 66 released detainees, more than a dozen local officials \u2014 primarily in Afghanistan \u2014 and U.S. officials with intimate knowledge of the detention program. The investigation also reviewed thousands of pages of U.S. military tribunal documents and other records.<\/p>\n This unprecedented compilation shows that most of the 66 were low-level Taliban grunts, innocent Afghan villagers or ordinary criminals<\/span>. At least seven had been working for the U.S.-backed Afghan government and had no ties to militants, according to Afghan local officials. In effect, many of the detainees posed no danger to the United States or its allies.<\/strong><\/p>\n The investigation also found that despite the uncertainty about whom they were holding, U.S. soldiers beat and abused many prisoners.<\/p>\n Prisoner mistreatment became a regular feature in cellblocks and interrogation rooms at Bagram and Kandahar air bases, the two main way stations in Afghanistan en route to Guantanamo.<\/p>\n While he was held at Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base, Akhtiar said, “When I had a dispute with the interrogator, when I asked, ‘What is my crime?’ the soldiers who took me back to my cell would throw me down the stairs.”<\/p>\n The McClatchy reporting also documented how U.S. detention policies fueled support for extremist Islamist groups. For some detainees who went home far more militant than when they arrived, Guantanamo became a school for jihad, or Islamic holy war.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It’s as if BushCo’s goal was to add fuel to the global fire and guarantee a generation of international warfare. Madness? Yes. peace, mjh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Scalia is the most intemperate, least judicial hot-head. peace, mjh Think Progress \u00bb Scalia: Court\u2019s Decision Restoring Habeas \u2018Will Almost Certainly Cause More Americans To Be Killed\u2019 In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that habeas corpus protections apply to detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. \u201cWe hold these petitioners do have the habeas … Continue reading Impeach Scalia!<\/span> In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that habeas corpus protections apply<\/a> to detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. \u201cWe hold these petitioners do have the habeas corpus privilege,\u201d wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the majority opinion. The decision was a \u201ca stunning blow<\/a> to the Bush Administration in its war-on-terrorism policies,\u201d SCOTUS Blog noted.<\/p>\n\n
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\nhas found that Akhtiar was one of dozens of men \u2014 and, according to several officials, perhaps hundreds \u2014 whom the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments<\/strong>.<\/p>\n