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Title: Keith Olbermann & Constitutional Law Prof Jonathan Turley On Military Commissions Act
Source:
www.rense.com
URL Source: http://www.rense.com/general73/ekei.htm
Published: Oct 18, 2006
Author: MSNBC
Post Date: 2006-10-19 22:16:54 by robin
Keywords: None
Views: 310
Comments: 25
Keith Olbermann & Constitutional Law Prof Jonathan Turley On Military Commissions Act MSNBC 10-18-6 To assess what this law will truly mean for us all, I'm joined by Jonathan Turley, professor of constitutional law at George Washington University. As always, sir, great thanks for your time. JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: Thanks, Keith. OLBERMANN: I want to start by asking you about a specific part of this act that lists one of the definitions of an unlawful enemy combatant as, quote, "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." Does that not basically mean that if Mr. Bush or Mr. Rumsfeld say so, anybody in this country, citizen or not, innocent or not, can end up being an unlawful enemy combatant? TURLEY: It certainly does. In fact, later on, it says that if you even give material support to an organization that the president deems connected to one of these groups, you too can be an enemy combatant. And the fact that he appoints this tribunal is meaningless. You know, standing behind him at the signing ceremony was his attorney general, who signed a memo that said that you could torture people, that you could do harm to them to the point of organ failure or death. So if he appoints someone like that to be attorney general, you can imagine who he's going be putting on this board. OLBERMANN: Does this mean that under this law, ultimately the only thing keeping you, I, or the viewer out of Gitmo is the sanity and honesty of the president of the United States? TURLEY: It does. And it's a huge sea change for our democracy. The framers created a system where we did not have to rely on the good graces or good mood of the president. In fact, Madison said that he created a system essentially to be run by devils, where they could not do harm, because we didn't rely on their good motivations. Now we must. And people have no idea how significant this is. What, really, a time of shame this is for the American system. What the Congress did and what the president signed today essentially revokes over 200 years of American principles and values. It couldn't be more significant. And the strange thing is, we've become sort of constitutional couch potatoes. I mean, the Congress just gave the president despotic powers, and you could hear the yawn across the country as people turned to, you know, "Dancing with the Stars." I mean, it's otherworldly. OLBERMANN: Is there one defense against this, the legal challenges against particularly the suspension or elimination of habeas corpus from the equation? And where do they stand, and how likely are they to overturn this action today? TURLEY: Well, you know what? I think people are fooling themselves if they believe that the courts will once again stop this president from taking over-taking almost absolute power. It basically comes down to a single vote on the Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy. And he indicated that if Congress gave the president these types of powers, that he might go along. And so we may have, in this country, some type of ueber-president, some absolute ruler, and it'll be up to him who gets put away as an enemy combatant, held without trial. It's something that no one thought-certainly I didn't think-was possible in the United States. And I am not too sure how we got to this point. But people clearly don't realize what a fundamental change it is about who we are as a country. What happened today changed us. And I'm not too sure we're going to change back anytime soon. OLBERMANN: And if Justice Kennedy tries to change us back, we can always call him an enemy combatant. The president reiterated today the United States does not torture. Does this law actually guarantee anything like that? TURLEY: That's actually when I turned off my TV set, because I couldn't believe it. You know, the United States has engaged in torture. And the whole world community has denounced the views of this administration, its early views that the president could order torture, could cause injury up to organ failure or death. The administration has already established that it has engaged in things like waterboarding, which is not just torture. We prosecuted people after World War II for waterboarding prisoners. We treated it as a war crime. And my God, what a change of fate, where we are now embracing the very thing that we once prosecuted people for. Who are we now? I know who we were then. But when the president said that we don't torture, that was, frankly, when I had to turn off my TV set. OLBERMANN: That same individual fell back on the same argument that he'd used about the war in Iraq to sanction this law. Let me play what he said and then ask you a question about it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUSH: Yet with the distance of history, the questions will be narrowed and few. Did this generation of Americans take the threat seriously? And did we do what it takes to defeat that threat? (END VIDEO CLIP) OLBERMANN: Does he understand the irony of those words when taken out of the context of this particular passage or of what he perceives as the war against terror, and that, in fact, the threat we may be facing is the threat of President George W. Bush? TURLEY: Well, this is going to go down in history as one of our greatest self-inflicted wounds. And I think you can feel the judgment of history. It won't be kind to President Bush. But frankly, I don't think that it will be kind to the rest of us. I think that history will ask, Where were you? What did you do when this thing was signed into law? There were people that protested the Japanese concentration camps, there were people that protested these other acts. But we are strangely silent in this national yawn as our rights evaporate. OLBERMANN: Well, not to pat ourselves on the back too much, but I think we've done a little bit of what we could have done, and... TURLEY: That's true. OLBERMANN: ... I'll see you at Gitmo. Jonathan Turley, constitutional law professor at George Washington University. As always, greatest thanks for your time, Jon. TURLEY: Thanks, Keith.
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#1. To: robin (#0)
It is amazing the number of posters commenting on this interview that expressed similar sentiments..."see you at Gitmo".
That's really a snub too. Not "The President" but "that same individual"' he also refers to him as George a lot too, which makes me happy.
We must keep exposing the traitors for what they are.
In-duh-vidual I still don't understand how Olbermann is getting away with it. Like they want the GOP to lose.
The Day King George Was Crowned The mind once expanded by a new idea never returns to its' original size
Perhaps we need to create some type of signal so we can ID each other once in the 'joint'... /chuckle (i think)
Well, it's not like he's a hardcore Austrian or anything. He pulls for the Dems quite a bit. Maybe somebody sees the writing on the wall and wants a piece of the pie to come. A changing of the crooks, if you will.
They can't secure a city of 8 million (Baghdad). Wonder how they'd fare trying 300 million.
One comment at 'YouTube'..."Look me up when you get to Gitmo, Keith...I'll be the one wearing the orange jumpsuit." We DEFINITELY need a signal...
Thanks! I've always enjoyed listening to Turley.
I knew someone who had been a member of the Dutch Resistance. He was extremely proud of the time he spent in jail.
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
Olbermann says this to Turley at the end of the interview. It's also in the transcript, but it's fun to hear it.
Turley is a Democrat, but a good one at that. He was very outspoken against the Great Stain Maker. He has always voiced what was on my mind, a true Patriot.
The mind once expanded by a new idea never returns to its' original size
Turley believes in the rule of law. As do all true Americans.
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
So does Bush, as long as he makes the laws.
But then there are the true idiot Americans.
In 1947, the UN created a perpetual war and named it Israel.
Well, he did say things would be a lot easier if he were a dictator.
Bush is our curse of a little Napoleon. Is there a jail on Elba?
A pup tent, some shackles and chains, a big hammer and a lot of big rocks that need turning into little rocks is all you'd need.
4 fingers? :P
It was a ten second free fall..that's what I saw, that's what you saw..that's what everybody saw...
What if we don't have any fingers after interrogation? :-)
did you see Syriana?
It was a ten second free fall..that's what I saw, that's what you saw..that's what everybody saw...
No...not much for movies. I have enough trouble with reality.
speaking of fingers, there's a torture scene in Syriana that is excruciating to watch.
It was a ten second free fall..that's what I saw, that's what you saw..that's what everybody saw...
Good thing I missed it...I barf easily, and it would really aggravate people if I did it in a theatre.
I'll see you at Gitmo.
Remember...G-d saved more animals than people on the ark. www.siameserescue.org
#2. To: robin (#0)
That same individual fell back on the same argument that he'd used about the war in Iraq to sanction this law. Let me play what he said and then ask you a question about it.
#3. To: who knows what evil (#1)
#4. To: duckhunter (#2)
#5. To: robin (#3)
#6. To: who knows what evil (#1)
It is amazing the number of posters commenting on this interview that expressed similar sentiments..."see you at Gitmo".
#7. To: robin (#4)
I still don't understand how Olbermann is getting away with it.
#8. To: Brian S (#6)
Perhaps we need to create some type of signal so we can ID each other once in the 'joint'...
#9. To: Brian S (#6)
Perhaps we need to create some type of signal so we can ID each other once in the 'joint'...
Remember...G-d saved more animals than people on the ark. www.siameserescue.org
#10. To: Itisa1mosttoolate (#5)
#11. To: who knows what evil (#1)
."see you at Gitmo".
#12. To: Itisa1mosttoolate, who knows what evil, aristeides (#5)
(Edited)
I'll see you at Gitmo.
#13. To: robin (#10)
#14. To: Itisa1mosttoolate (#13)
#15. To: aristeides (#14)
Turley believes in the rule of law.
#16. To: aristeides (#14)
As do all true Americans.
#17. To: Cynicom (#15)
So does Bush, as long as he makes the laws.
#18. To: duckhunter (#17)
Well, he did say things would be a lot easier if he were a dictator.
#19. To: Cynicom (#18)
Is there a jail on Elba?
#20. To: Brian S (#6)
Perhaps we need to create some type of signal so we can ID each other once in the 'joint'...
#21. To: christine (#20)
4 fingers? :P
Remember...G-d saved more animals than people on the ark. www.siameserescue.org
#22. To: who knows what evil (#21)
#23. To: christine (#22)
Remember...G-d saved more animals than people on the ark. www.siameserescue.org
#24. To: who knows what evil (#23)
#25. To: christine (#24)
speaking of fingers, there's a torture scene in Syriana that is excruciating to watch.
Remember...G-d saved more animals than people on the ark. www.siameserescue.org
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