On the poltics of prosecution.
My post about bin Laden's death is actually colored by other events, related to the incarceration of Bradley Manning. Manning is accused of violating his obligation to protect classified information.
Obama, a couple of weeks ago, was challenged on the conditions of Manning's pre-trial confinement. Manning's confinement has been (up until very recently; he has been transferred from the Marine Brig at Quantico to a holding facility at Ft. Leavenworth) in apparent violation of military regulation, and by any measure draconian.
Obama's response to the question was chilling, "He broke the law."
Which may be true, but we don't know that yet. Obama, who made a point in his run for president of having taught Constitutional Law knows that in our system we have a presumption of innocence. A defendant must be proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, guilty.
The State can't just clap someone in irons and say, "She committed a crime," nor are we supposed to be in the business of punishing someone before the trial, since it's possible they will be acquitted.
So for that to be the justification use for someone's being stripped of all but their underwear, not allowed to sleep more then 20 minutes at a time; without a blanket, an in a lighted room, with nothing to read, nor listen to (save the thoughts in his own head), all before the trial... that bothers me.
For the president to say such a thing as if that somehow made it unreasonable to question that sort of treatment... that's a real problem.
That's the sort of thing which makes me wonder if he deserves to be president, because it's the sort of thing I complained about his predecessor doing, and it's no different when Obama does it than when Bush did it, or some tinpot dictator does it somewhere else.
Obama, a couple of weeks ago, was challenged on the conditions of Manning's pre-trial confinement. Manning's confinement has been (up until very recently; he has been transferred from the Marine Brig at Quantico to a holding facility at Ft. Leavenworth) in apparent violation of military regulation, and by any measure draconian.
Obama's response to the question was chilling, "He broke the law."
Which may be true, but we don't know that yet. Obama, who made a point in his run for president of having taught Constitutional Law knows that in our system we have a presumption of innocence. A defendant must be proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, guilty.
The State can't just clap someone in irons and say, "She committed a crime," nor are we supposed to be in the business of punishing someone before the trial, since it's possible they will be acquitted.
So for that to be the justification use for someone's being stripped of all but their underwear, not allowed to sleep more then 20 minutes at a time; without a blanket, an in a lighted room, with nothing to read, nor listen to (save the thoughts in his own head), all before the trial... that bothers me.
For the president to say such a thing as if that somehow made it unreasonable to question that sort of treatment... that's a real problem.
That's the sort of thing which makes me wonder if he deserves to be president, because it's the sort of thing I complained about his predecessor doing, and it's no different when Obama does it than when Bush did it, or some tinpot dictator does it somewhere else.