Dodd should push bill on detainees

4/8/07
It's a valid question: Just what is Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut doing in the presidential race? It's not uncommon for a respected veteran senator to make a run at the country's top job, but Dodd lags far behind in fundraising and name recognition.
But what he may offer is visibility for a push to reverse recent policy regarding detainees in the "war on terror." Dodd several months ago introduced a bill to restore to detainees held on suspicion of terrorist activities the right to question the charges against them. In the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision, it's a battle worth fighting.
The court last week declined to hear a claim from detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that they were being denied the right to habeas corpus protected by the U.S. Constitution. Justices said the prisoners had not exhausted all other legal possibilities, and therefore it was not proper for the court to rule. It is widely expected that the case will make its way back to the highest court next year.
In the meantime, though, Dodd should continue to support his measure to restore basic rights. The detainees at the U.S. military base are among "the most egregious terror suspects," a Navy official said. But this is a distinction that should be made by a court, with full rights for defendants, including the rights to an attorney, to view evidence and to question witnesses. Anything less falls short of the standard that has served America well for more than 200 years.
Of course, it's too late by this time to get a fair trial in the U.S. court system for most of the detainees, what with widespread allegations of torture and illegal questioning at secret CIA "black sites" around the world. It boggles the mind how far outside the legal system our pursuit of absolute safety has taken us.
And for those who would argue that we face a new kind of enemy that our legal system is ill-suited for, bear in mind that our nation has in its day withstood war, foreign invasion, civil unrest and the potential for worldwide nuclear destruction — we've handled worse than whatever these terrorists can throw at us. And we didn't at any point sacrifice our most precious liberties.
So Dodd has an opportunity here. Push this bill through, restore a measure of sanity to our legal system and reverse the sham of a law that stripped those rights in the first place. With the loudspeaker that comes with a presidential bid, there's no better way for him to make his voice heard.