Court Rules Against Bush in Enemy Combatant Case

The court rules that no evidence was present to continue holding a detainee indefinitely

In a major setback for Bush's policies in the war on terrorism adopted after the September 11 attacks, the appellate panel ruled 2-1 the U.S. government had no evidence to treat Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri as an "enemy combatant." The court ordered him released from military custody.

"The government cannot subject al-Marri to indefinite military detention. For in the United States, the military cannot seize and imprison civilians -- let alone imprison them indefinitely," Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote.

I am all for holding terrorism suspects but you must have evidence to do it. The idea that the American Government can and will hold people at will for years with no files charged is frightening. It is a complete departure from what we are as a nation and as a people. If the Government feels that someone is a terrorist then they need to prove that in a court of law. Without that protection, what is to stop them from doing that to you or me?

Those who say it is necessary to win the war on terrorism must realize if we resort to those tactics, we have already lost.