Democracy for Vancouver

How I missed this yesterday I can’t fathom:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress should explicitly declare a state of armed conflict with al Qaeda to make clear the United States can detain suspected members as long as the war on terrorism lasts, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Monday.

Mukasey urged Congress to make the declaration in a package of legislative proposals to establish a legal process for terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo, in response to a Supreme Court ruling last month that detainees had a constitutional right to challenge their detention.

“Any legislation should acknowledge again and explicitly that this nation remains engaged in an armed conflict with al Qaeda, the Taliban and associated organizations, who have already proclaimed themselves at war with us,” Mukasey said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute.

Who decides who’s an “associated organization”?

“Congress should reaffirm that for the duration of the conflict the United States may detain as enemy combatants those who have engaged in hostilities or purposefully supported al Qaeda, the Taliban and associated organizations,” [Mukasey] said.
…
Democrats in control of Congress and civil rights groups reacted coolly, saying Mukasey’s proposals would avert legal oversight and stack the deck in favor of the administration.

“Essentially it means that if a president declares someone to be a terrorist, they would then have the authority to hold that person without trial forever,” said Chris Anders, senior legislative counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union.

They reacted “coolly”?

They reacted fucking “coolly” to the FISA bill at first, too, I seem to recall, and we all know how that battle ended.

This is one to call early and often on, folks. We can’t afford for this to become another election year rogering because Obama et al decide that politics are more important than the Constitution, or democracy, or any other petty crap like that.