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Renditions continue under Obama, despite due-process concerns - The Washington Post
The Administration has resisted putting any more terrorists in Gitmo, so the alternatives become killing them outright, as in drone attacks, or rendition. Congress has resisted the administration's plan to detain these people in civilian jails and prisons and try them in civilian courts. There is no Senator who welcomes such prisoners in his or her state's courts and prisons.
The other aspect of this particular case is the fact that the three men in question have never had anything to do with the US and were not planning to come to the US or attack the US. They are being prosecuted under a doctrine of universal jurisdiction -- the idea that the US can prosecute criminals that commit crimes anywhere in the world even if they have nothing to do with the US.
Article One of the Constitution allows for prosecution of criminals anywhere in the world who commit crimes recognized as "offenses against the law of nations." What these men are alleged to have done does not fall into that rubric. They were merely participating in a foreign civil war.
The men are the latest example of how the Obama administration has embraced rendition — the practice of holding and interrogating terrorism suspects in other countries without due process — despite widespread condemnation of the tactic in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Renditions are taking on renewed significance because the administration and Congress have not reached agreement on a consistent legal pathway for apprehending terrorism suspects overseas and bringing them to justice.
The Administration has resisted putting any more terrorists in Gitmo, so the alternatives become killing them outright, as in drone attacks, or rendition. Congress has resisted the administration's plan to detain these people in civilian jails and prisons and try them in civilian courts. There is no Senator who welcomes such prisoners in his or her state's courts and prisons.
The other aspect of this particular case is the fact that the three men in question have never had anything to do with the US and were not planning to come to the US or attack the US. They are being prosecuted under a doctrine of universal jurisdiction -- the idea that the US can prosecute criminals that commit crimes anywhere in the world even if they have nothing to do with the US.
Article One of the Constitution allows for prosecution of criminals anywhere in the world who commit crimes recognized as "offenses against the law of nations." What these men are alleged to have done does not fall into that rubric. They were merely participating in a foreign civil war.