I read the Washington Post's editorial on Jose Padilla with great interest -- given that it essentially concedes the correctness of yesterday's ruling which effectively says that Padilla may be detained until the end of the conflict with al-Qaeda.

And strangely enough, I found myself -- sort of -- in agreement with the position that the paper takes at the end of the article, namely that the time has come to prosecute Padilla.

At this stage, there is no good reason to keep holding Mr. Padilla in a status that raises so many troubling questions and that risks so much. His intelligence value is exhausted, and he would be as disabled from rejoining the fight in a federal prison as in a military brig. Instead of trying its luck before the Supreme Court, the administration ought to seek congressional legislation to regulate such cases. In the immediate term, it should file criminal charges against Mr. Padilla, if it continues to insist he is a dangerous terrorist. Allowing Mr. Padilla a full opportunity to defend himself in a regular criminal proceeding would not only protect liberties, it would avoid another damaging setback for presidential war powers by the high court.

So yes, I retract my support for Padilla's indefinite detention and lend my support for an immediate trial. But whereas the Post envisions a civilian trial for this al-Qaada operative, I propose instead the Executive Branch dispose of this case as was done with the Nazi saboteurs in Ex Parte Quirin. Yeah, that's right -- a military trial.

Padilla's crimes are essentially those of an enemy fighter acting unlawfully to make war upon the United States. Under American law and all international law precedents, a military court is the appropriate place to handle such a case. Supreme Court precedent makes it clear that this in no way violates the Constitution, and military courts are subject to the essential due process requirements of the Constitution. Furthermore, it would be a travesty of justice for one who entered teh US intent on making war upon it to be subject to greater legal protection than our own military personnel who have sworn to uphold, protect, and defend this country and its Constitution.

So let's begin the prosecution of Padilla (or should we be super-sensitive and call him by his chosen name, Abdullah al-Muhajir) before a military court -- to be followed, one should sincerely hope, by a swift and speedy execution upon his conviction.

(Hat Tip -- The Southern California Law Blog

Posted by: Greg at 11:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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