Duped

One of the main issues I had with the Bush administration was its use of torture as well as the dismantling of the rule of law in its fight against terror. This is the behavior of third world dictatorships and when we lower ourselves to those standards of behavior, it threatens our existance as a civilized nation.

I voted for Barak Obama because he seemed to be equally appalled at the direction the country was heading towards in its fight against terror. In the first month of his presidency, he ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp as well as ordering a review of military trials for terror suspects and a ban on harsh interrogation methods. He said that the United States would continue to fight terror, but maintain "our values and our ideals."

On June 12, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the denial of habeas corpus rights to Guantanamo detainees was unconstitutional and that all Guantanamo detainees have the right to a full hearing in which they can contest the accusations against them. I fully agree. The U.S. government having the power to abduct anyone from around the world and label them terrorists before dumping them in American prisons without due process is a very dangerous precedent to set. And, yet, the Obama administration - that same administration that was appalled by Guantanamo - on Friday, according to the New York Times, declared that it would APPEAL a district court ruling that granted some military prisoners in Afghanistan the right to file lawsuits seeking their release. The decision signaled that the administration was not backing down in its effort to maintain the power to imprison terrorism suspects for extended periods without judicial oversight.

Before Obama became President, he had this to say about the same ruling which he is fighting against:

"Today's Supreme Court decision ensures that we can protect our nation and bring terrorists to justice, while also protecting our core values. The Court's decision is a rejection of the Bush Administration's attempt to create a legal black hole at Guantanamo - yet another failed policy supported by John McCain. This is an important step toward reestablishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus. Our courts have employed habeas corpus with rigor and fairness for more than two centuries, and we must continue to do so as we defend the freedom that violent extremists seek to destroy."

To say that I feel as though I've been duped is an understatement. The person I voted for is not only "ginned up" on spending money, but he's also a hypocrite who is set on defending the worst policies of the Bush administration.