Kabuki Debate Revealed

Five former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have now come out against Bush's attempt to legalize torture and redefine the Geneva Conventions. But of course that is not what this debate is really about. Via Digby I see that the Center for Constitutional Rights has understood the debate and the stakes.

The debate around these bills misses the point: both versions strip away the fundamental right to habeas corpus, the right to challenge your detention in a court of law, not to be locked up under the President’s say-so, guilty or innocent, never to be heard from again.

An amendment in play could take out this dangerous measure – please use our site to fax your senators and tell them to support the Specter-Levin Amendment on habeas corpus when it gets introduced. The bills are S.3901, The Military Commissions Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Warner and S.3861, The Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Frist. Please call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 IMMEDIATELY, especially if they are among the 26 we’ve identified below as critical in this fight.

Anyone in U.S. custody, at home or abroad, must have the right to challenge their detention in court. Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than this right. Tell your Senator TODAY that they must vote to save habeas corpus.

Habeas corpus protections have ALREADY been ruled as inalienable by the Supreme Court. It's ridiculous that we have to plow this ground again. But the imperials running the executive branch are relentless. And the media is largely not understanding what is at stake. This entire thing is about immunizing high-level officials from prosecution and saving Bush's ass. The reason the timing of this is so critical is NOT the election, it's this:

The Red Cross expects to meet for the first time 14 high-level terrorism suspects who were recently transferred from CIA secret prisons to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, at a visit to the camp starting next week, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Antonella Notari, chief spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said officials will arrive Monday for a scheduled two-week visit to Guantanamo. The ICRC is the only neutral agency with full access to Guantanamo detainees.

Bush needed to get these guys out of secret prisons in Europe to save himself from the International Criminal Court. Now he needs to eliminate habeas corpus and change the War Crimes Act to save humself from domestic courts. This is an accountability dodge for violations of law and treaty obligations, pure and simple.

THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE and that's the Specter-Levin Amendment. Call your senators and tell them they must vote for the Amendment.

UPDATE: I'm glad the Senate Majority Project is picking up on John McCain's fake integrity and making sure he doesn't get away unchallenged on his weasel ways. You have to attack your opponent at his strength, and for McCain it's all about integrity.