MCA lies, half truths and hysteria

One of the issues that came up a few weeks ago was the passage of the Military Commisions act of 2006. All over at the blogosphere, and at my office, a firestorm began. Emails were sent, branding the passage of this legislation as the death of habeas corpus.

Opinions can and will vary, but our own fighting men and women have been subject to military tribunals for quite some time...we've used the UCMJ(Uniform Code of Military Justice) for quite some time. Good enough for own, good enough for the enemy, in my humble opinion. I've heard quite a bit from left and right wing wackos on the subject, and for me it comes down to a fairly simple question. How the hell can one say that habeas corpus rights are being taken away if they have never been extended to unlawful combatants or POW's before? How does one take away that which has never been?

It might be uncomfortable for some people, but not everyone in the world is guaranteed the protections of the U.S. Constitution. Then again, many of those people would be shocked to learn that the Constitution allows the suspension of habeas corpus for American citizens. Point out that the most heavy handed abusers of civil liberties were Lincoln and FDR, and watch heads explode. Good times.