Monday, October 23, 2006

Hearsay, Torture and Death American Style

An Outer Banks hotel clerk lied to a Naval Petty Officer about a gang rape. Acting on the hearsay, the young man administered a little homespun justice by kidnapping a Marine in question and later killing him. The assailant posed as a Naval Criminal Investigation agent attempting to get information about the rape. In the process he slit the innocent man’s throat and later buried him.

The sailor pleaded guilty to premeditated murder, kidnapping, impersonating a Naval Criminal Investigation Service agent and obstruction of justice. Had this sailor acted similarly with an unlawful enemy combatant, there would be no crime. Next time he needs to get President Bush or Secretary Rumsfeld to declare his target an unlawful enemy combatant. There is nothing in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that prevents them from giving an American citizen such a designation.

At that point hearsay, torture, impersonating any kind of intelligence officer even from another country is “a OK”. Should a death happen, my guess is no one would know about it. I’ll have to go back and see what it says about combatants who die in U.S. custody. Who do they inform and who has rights to the body of the deceased? Ooopss, I meant ashes as the government wouldn’t want to release any evidence of torture.

No comments: