Democracy vs totalitarianism?

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A new word entered the political lexicon with the war in Afghanistan and the passage of the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act. That word is "detainee." In the US, citizens and non-citizens have been scooped up and held incommunicado indefinitely. Others have been taken from around the world and are held in legal limbo at Guantanamo. Still others are being rounded up in Iraq. What all of these "detainees" hold in common are:
1. The are being held under US jurisdiction and control;
2. They are held indefinitely, withouth charges, and almost universally without access to legal consultation or contact with family or other support;
3. In many cases, these people are "disappeared." The US government will not release the names of the detained;
4. Detainees are held without charges on "suspicion."

Yesterday, the US announced that 506 Iraqi detainees were to go free (Hundley, Chicago Tribune, 1/07/04). This was at the prompting of the UK to improve relations between the US occupying forces and the people of Iraq. Today, the detainees are still in custody (Krane, AP, 1/08/04).

It is estimated that over 12800 (Krane article) Iraqis are detained inside Iraq. These folks have been picked up in various sweeps, raids, and stops. Some are detained because they possessed anti-coalition literature. (Army colonel fined for firing gun near Iraqi Seattle Times, 12/13/03).

Yes, in a demonstration of what democracy means, possessing literature becomes a crime.

In order for detainees to be released, they have to swear a pledge to not participate in anti-coalition activities, and they have to be vouched for by a community or tribal leader.

This is not only an issue for Iraq. While the federal courts have ruled that detention of US citiizens are illegal, the administration is still pushing the issues - U.S. Reasserts Right to Declare Citizens to Be Enemy Combatants (Lichtblau, NYT, 1/08/04). It court had ruled in the Padilla case that the president could not rule that a US citizen was an "enemy combatant" when that person was on US soil and had engaged in no action against the US. They argued that this was a congressional power. The administration, as expected, has pushed through an expedited appeals process to get the matter before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, hundreds (or maybe thousands) of people still sit as "detainees" in US holding facilities >b>inside the US.

The Bush administration has written new rules of engagement across the board in its pursuit of 'the war on terrorism." In this war, there are no civil liberties; no protection under the rule of law; "suspects" can be held indefinitely; those who protest can be detained, attacked, or even killed; nations can be invaded preemptively and without cause for being labled "state sponsors of terrorism."

This does not look like democracy to me. It has none of the rules of democracy. This is a outright totalitarianism and it is about time we saw it as such.

Sources
506 Iraqi detainees to go free (Hundley, Chicago Tribune, 1/07/04)

Iraqis Wait in Vain for Release of Detainees (Krane & El Deeb, AP, 1/08/04)

U.S. Reasserts Right to Declare Citizens to Be Enemy Combatants (Lichtblau, NY Times, 1/08/04)

Army colonel fined for firing gun near Iraqi (Seattle Times, 12/13/03)

Thousands of detainees sit, wait in Iraq (Hanley, Newsobserver, 10/08/03)

Posted by rowan at January 8, 2004 09:49 AM | TrackBack | Printable Version | [eMail this article!] |