Enemy Combatants Entitled to US Court System

[EstimatedProphet]

Pundits laud 'enemy combatants' ruling
While Supreme Court decision hands Bush legal defeat, it strengthens executive role in waging war in an age of terror.
by Jim Bencivenga | csmonitor.com

In three rulings handed down Monday, the "Supremes," made clear that "enemy combatants are entitled to access to US courts whether they are being held in a military brig within the US or at a terrorism prison camp" at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, reports The Christian Science Monitor.

And while the full legal implications of the Court's decisions are yet to be fully digested, editorials and opinion pieces reflecting a wide spectrum of viewpoints from newspapers both domestic and international, praised the outcome. Pundits viewed the Court as decisive, both legally, and more importantly, democratically, in asserting the role of courts as final arbiter of individual rights.

The Court rejected the Bush administration's core legal premise, that when it comes to waging war, the separation of powers principle in the US Constitution gives the executive branch final say on open-ended detention of enemy combatants. Just as important was the way in which the Court "correctly placed itself at the center of this political storm and re-emphasized the importance of the rule of law," editorialized the Times of London (subscription).

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0629/dailyUpdate.html

[EstimatedProphet]

1. Kick-this affects Gitmo