by Linda Gehring

Created on: August 06, 2008

"We the People OF THE UNITED STATES, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty TO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

This week another 'landmark' case was heard before the Supreme Court with respect to the 'rights' of the Gitmo detainees to be afforded the 'option' and opportunity to have their crimes heard in our federal courts (rather than military tribunals) with respect to their detention as 'enemy combatants,' and afforded the right of habeas corpus (to have the evidence against them presented in a court of law) since many of these individuals have been held in an off-shore military detention center at Guantanamo for almost two years without being afforded the opportunity to have their 'day in court.' Although it is apparent from the reports of some of the 'crimes' of a few of these individuals as not within the parameters of the Congressional Resolution (and not Act of War) issued after 9/11 which outlined that our military's mission was to "seek out and arrest those responsible for the attack of 9/11 and Osama bin Laden, and any and all who give them aid and comfort," the basic question I have is how did this mess got so 'political' and unconstitutional to begin with, and how the Bush Administration and Supreme Court now have so mishandled this conflict from the outset.

As indicated above, the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution clearly indicates that this 'government of the people,' is a 'government of the American people.' The Bill of Rights protections afforded within it, therefore, by extension ONLY are inherently given to American citizens, not foreigners or identified non-American enemy combatants. This would include any illegal immigrant in this country committing a criminal act, and identified foreign 'enemies of the state.' The founders included that the federal government was responsible for a 'process of naturalization,' so these rights inherently are only intended and given to either natural, or naturalized citizens of this country.

With respect to the Gitmo detainees, unfortunately it appears there are even journalists being detained. The military went beyond the Congressional Resolution, it appears, in picking up and detaining not simply those allegedly connected with the Taliban or al-Qaeda (and it was the Taliban and bin Laden, actually,

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