|
[Previous entry: "Encounter in broad daylight"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "A not entirely satisfactory pledge"] 13 July 2003: "...What military music is to music"
The Economist devotes its front cover and its opening leader this week to the planned military commissions to try suspected terrorists. The title alone—"Unjust, unwise, unAmerican"—leaves little doubt as to the editorial position regarding this issue. The main beef the editors have with the scheme is the way the executive seems to be doing all in its power (or more correctly, beyond its power) to keep the legislature and the judiciary cut out of the matter, thereby undermining the principle of "checks and balances," which is the cornerstone of the US Constitution. (Indeed, it undercuts the trias politica, cornerstone of modern democracy.)
“It's very easy to criticise something if you haven't seen it in action yet,” says Major John Smith, a Pentagon spokesman. “Military commissions may come to be seen as a very legitimate and proper way of dealing with international terrorism.”"Criticising something you haven't seen in action yet"... Sounds suspiciously like the US government's attitude towards the International Criminal Court, if you ask me. And at least the Rome Statute guarantees the defendant those protections most democratic states consider proper. |
Navigation: home archives backgrounder Blogs:
au currant Miscellanea:
Care to contribute |
