Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay Example for Free

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay The law of Habeas Corpus was created to permit the guilty to present their case in court and to be tried fairly. In todays war on terror, the amount of such enemy combatants who were detained indefinitely without any trial has raised. The courts are split up on following the law by the letter or to practically change it according to the situations needs. I feel its necessary to follow these laws in the same context in which they were written, and the pragmatic approach leaves room for reckless changes. To deny an enemy combatant his or her day in court cannot be justified as taking the pragmatic approach in dealing with war criminals. This paper is an attempt to present the state of law today towards war criminals and the implications of denying the basic right of Habeas Corpus to suspected terrorists. Ever since the onset of civilization, arguments have routinely erupted between various members, families, factions, and groups within civilizations and between civilizations. In ancient times, arguments would be resolved by crude means, means not limited to the powerful person using brute force to show he was in the right. The stronger person would always have, say for example, the first right to food, to agricultural produce, cattle and to wealth etc. The weak wouldn’t dare pick an argument over the stronger person in fear for their life. But as civilizations grew and advanced over time, a code of ethics and laws began to form. Societies began to incorporate and adapt these laws in their daily functioning. Drawing inspiration from religion, past civilization practices and their mistakes, it was only natural that basic human rights were thought about and codified. The rights were guaranteed to all human beings, irrespective of who was physically stronger. The American Revolution has beyond doubt shaped the basic structure of human rights for the entire world to follow. Among many undeniable rights to citizens, the writ of Habeas Corpus was identified and established very early on in the Revolution. In Europe, the writ of Habeas Corpus was first traced to be used around the 12th and 13th centuries during the medieval period. Habeas Corpus translates from Latin to mean â€Å"you may have the body† or you may examine the body. It is essentially a writ that requires any person detained by law enforcers to be tried in a court of law and have his detention validated (Bbc. com, 2005). The writ doesn’t decide whether the accused is guilty or not, it merely stipulates that the accused be tried and detained if only found guilty of the crime being accused for. The US inherited this law from the English and codified it in the constitution in Article 1, section 9. The UN later incorporated it in their international human rights in 1952. The point of contention with the habeas corpus right is to whom it applies. The law stipulates that this right be never be suspended or denied except in cases of rebellion, invasion or when perceived as a threat to public safety. Surprisingly, this writ has been previously suspended twice in the past for seemingly similar reasons. President Lincoln suspended the writ in 1861 to prosecute the war prisoners captured during the American Civil war. His argument was that the confederates were a threat to the union and hence issued the order (Dueholm, 2008). This law was later restored after the war ended in 1866. President Bush in 2006 issued a similar suspension of the habeas corpus writ to detain enemy combatants captured in the global war against terror. It deemed these accused terrorists as a threat to national security and denied them the right to be presented and tried in court. This paper will focus on the consequences faced by the accused and the validity of enforcing such a suspension. Just suspending the writ wouldn’t seem very harmful when looked at by itself. But consider for a moment who the government arrests. American policy makers routinely count any military age males as enemy combatants. Drone strikes assume anyone in the vicinity of a drone strike of military age to be a enemy combatant first and then when sufficient intelligence is available to the contrary, they are posthumously declared civilians (Balko, 2012). In a likewise fashion, arrests were also made based on the very broad physical description of an age group, or depending on where they are and who they interact with, were picked up after being accused of terrorism. Next, consider the location of their detention. Accused terrorists were detained at prison, run by US military personnel backed by US administration; set up in a foreign land i. . Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The single reason for maintaining such an institution away from US soil was to escape the jurisdiction of laws that govern detainees which would apply if held on US soil. Laws of detention stipulate not only the kind of treatment but also the punishment meted out to convicted terrorists. The captors were free to torture their captives in any way they saw fit to gather any amount of relevant information, regardless of whether the person accused is an actual terrorist holding any real information to share. Terms such as enhanced interrogation techniques had to be invented to pass them as legal and humane methods in congress. Add to this polarized scenario, the suspension of the one single law that could serve as the difference between life and death of an innocent civilian the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The suspension took away with it the only chance an innocent civilian had to prove his innocence. In short, simply standing at the wrong place at the wrong time can get you to serve a lifetime of torture with not even a hint of a fair trial. Naturally, concern about the handling of such detainees grew and petitions filed by family and friends of detainees finally began to reach the courts. The Supreme Court finally in a landmark case of Boumediene v. Bush ruled against the suspension of habeas corpus for the detainees with a 5-4 majority. It declared that the suspension of the writ was indeed unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy who ruled with the majority supported his stand with examples from the history of the writ back in the 12th century and its recent applicability in territories outside the border of US but still falling in its control, such as Chanel Islands. His summary also compared the legality of this writ in Scotland, which is a sovereign nation and yet still under English laws. Once US jurisdiction was proved, Justice Scoter, Ginsburg and Bryer pointed out that it would have to be one that was based on the constitution or no jurisdiction at all. Justice Scalia argued that the habeas corpus law was in fact protected by the Detainee Treatment Act, and refuted the entire judicial intervention. He was supported by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito and Thomas. The Justices did a fine job of evaluating the suspension of the writ. From establishing jurisdiction and what kind of jurisdiction, to an alternate mechanism to protect the habeas corpus in spirit, all avenues were thoroughly investigated. The courts also recognized the extremely difficult nature of assessing an individual in a warzone to be a combatant or a civilian in a foreign location. And yet, the writ cannot be suspended out of fear of failure in acquiring adequate proof against the detainee. Personally, I feel strongly that the writ of habeas corpus is a right so basic that it cannot be suspended in any scenario. The very least an accuser can do is to offer a fair trial to the accused. I feel that the President was wrong to remove the last ray of hope of an innocent civilian that might have been unfairly detained. The case also established the judicial soundness of our nation even at times of war, and the entire exercise in judiciary coming in between the functioning of Congress was an example to the world. Denying such a basic right makes us no different than the terrorists who accuse and punish others that broadly fit their own enemy description. Living as a part of a civilized nation for over 200 years, we owe it to ourselves to act in a dignified manner, even with our captives.

Matelda ?a Lady Moved by Love? :: essays research papers

In Dante’s Divina Commedia, he takes on a journey with unforgettable characters, from the poets from antiquity, demons, giants, and finally too famous saints. Dante’s and the character interaction with them are what make this story. They are the legs on which this work was able to stand for so many years as a masterpiece. It was the characters that I most enjoyed it this work, you find yourself loving and hating the different shades you meet during Hell, the penitents of Purgatory and the saints of Heaven. The most developed characters we find in Commedia are Dante, Virgil and Beatrice. Yet there are several minor characters that if one looks more closely are just as interesting as our main stars. One such minor character is my favorite Matelda, and also a perfect example of Dante’s brilliance in characterization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Matelda is a minor guide that helps Dante after Virgil disappears, and until Beatrice takes him to heaven (Cantos XXVIII- XXXIII). Although Matelda may look like a plain old static-stock character , her motives are pure, her actions consistent and she is plausible as a guardian angel type whose actions are moved by the Divine love in her. Dante the Character at this point in the story is about to leave the world literally and to meet his love Beatrice (who actually yells at him for his sin, before taking him to heaven). He has been left by his faithful guide, Virgil (which he doesn’t even notice at first has been gone for a few cantos) and finds himself in the hand of a loving and beautiful hands of Matelda.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Matelda is a perfect guardian angel for Dante at this point in his journey, and faithful to helping him during this transition. Are her actions consistent? Yes. all are in line with Divine Love. We see this trough her actions. We first meet her she is the lovely creature that resides in the Garden of Eden. At Dante’s request she explains all of his questions. She guides him through the Garden and then washes him clean and helps him to drink from the rivers of memories, all after he gets reprimanded by Beatrice. All this is done out of Love, for it is ultimately Divine Love that motivates her, motives that are pure in guiding her charge. For example â€Å"Why are you so intent on looking only at those living lights? Have you no wish to see what comes behind?† This encouragement will help Dante to move forward to his goal. Yet I think it’s her purity of motives that make her a static character because

Mba Program in Kogod School of Business Essay

MNTC, my painstaking effort, is aggressively aimed to produce for China’s electric power enterprises the best RFID chip, and to provide the power equipment inspection departments and clients with decoders and background service. After quitting from the bank job, I immediately created MNTC, which has always been carefully treated as my child. For its robust growth, I have tried my best to be the world’s most attentive father. RFID chips function as both equipment IDs and recorders. First, write customer information into the chips and encrypt it through the encryption system out of our own independent research and development, and then install those chips into all sorts of needed electric power equipments, so as to equip the corresponding departments and users with the ability to access the devices through network in a secure and efficient manner. After having successfully solved the financial and the human resource crisis, the usual issues encountered during the initial period of an enterprise development, I further established a background system development team. Since then, MNTC won the first sum of financing, which made me wholly aroused. But the company being bigger and stronger forced me to feel that my already insufficient management skills is eventually unable to fulfill the development needs of MNTC. And hence I deeply realize the very importance of more advanced management concepts and strategies. Advancing my management ability is indeed the short-term goal, and this is closely related to most courses in the Kogod School of Business. The study and research on those courses can definitely cultivate me to be a more prudent and masterful manager. Upon graduation, I have faith that, not only can I take the most of the improved economic modes to implement better cost control, but also I could apply more brilliant business strategies to explore the expansive ways of MNTC. I’m more eager to learn from American University (AU) about how to perfect the industry chain of electric power by finally achieving the more optimized combination of technology and capital, and how to promote industrial revolution in the perspective of networking application. Yes, that is my long-term goal, seemingly far away. To reach it, I am in dire need of the guidance of my future beacons, the distinguished professors in the Kogod School. Hope to draw on the experience of the successful roads of numerous American enterprises, through which in order to accumulate more capital and introduce more powerful technology innovation for China’s electric power industry. Years of management experience has solidly honed me to become a diligent thinker who can always figure out solutions from different angles. The diversity of AU and AU’s emphasis on creation nicely fit this characteristic of mine. What’s more, the specialties of AU – Kogod Center for Career Development and K-LAB (Kogod Leadership & Applied Business) would guarantee me a wide and deep network of alumni resources from within the AU community and beyond. Thus, I firmly believe that the world-class MBA program in AU, outstanding and well-rounded, plus the superior geographical position of Washington, DC are the two critical factors of ensuring that American University is and will be the best choice of accomplishing my long-term goal.

The Prevalence Of Low Blood Pressure - 1645 Words

With the global population suffering from an unprecedented distortion of the traditional age distribution, discussion and scientific inquiry surrounding the nature and impacts of dementia among the aging and the elderly is becoming increasingly prevalent within the public eye. One such story, conducted by the Erasmus Medical Center and reported in a BBC News online report, examines the prevalence of dementia in relation to preceding low blood pressure (Mundasad, 2016). The article, as reflected in its concluding professional recommendations, aims to indicate low blood pressure complications as a potential factor in developing dementia, thus informing consumer healthcare decisions and contributing to an expanding body of medical knowledge. In describing this study, BBC health reporter Smitha Mundasad explains the nature of the original endeavor. Researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands posed a topic of inquiry indulging the research question of whether frequent i ncidents of low blood pressure have any impact on one’s likelihood of contracting dementia over their lifetime (Mundasad, 2016). Their suspected alternate hypothesis states that frequent low-blood pressure incidents will increase the occurrence of dementia within their sample participants. It is important to note that this hypothesis is directional, as Mundasad mentions that previous research has linked high blood pressure to various forms of dementia (2016). Thus, researchers had grounds toShow MoreRelated High Blood Pressure Essay1374 Words   |  6 PagesData from World health organization (2002), estimated that high blood pressure was the cause of death for more than 7 million individuals every year, affecting 972 million of world population which accounts for 26.4% in total, 26.6% of those are men and 26.1% are women. 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