Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2007
What you need to know about: the Military Commissions Act of 2006
By Dana Edwards
Staff Writer
dedwardl @my.westga .edit
The first seven years
of the new millennium
have been simultaneously
cheerful and tragic;
encompassing human
triumph and tremendous
loss. While Americans
have been focusing on
rebuilding our spirit
from Sept. 11, saying
goodbye to troops bound
for Iraq, and deciphering
an enigmatic presidency,
something has slipped
under our noses.
The Military
Commissions Act 0f2006,
passed on Sept. 28, is an
act that is unequivocally
unconstitutional, and
it has the potential to
destroy everything
Americans stand for.
When reading the
Intramurals & Recreational Services
Calander of Events
Registration for Flag Football and Soccer
August 27 - September 7, 2007
Flag Football and Soccer begins
September 17, 2007
Registration for Kayaking Trip
September 17-26, 2007
Registration for Battle Ball
October 1 -5, 2007
Registration for Backpacking Trip
October 15 - 24, 2007
HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
We're looking for writers this semester who want to cover different events here at UWG. Get paid for your
interest in campus events and become published in the West Georgian by emailing Erik Waters at:
uwgpapei@westga.edu
MCA of 2006, nothing
appears to be wrong.
The purpose of the act
is to deal with “unlawful
enemy combatants,” or
supposed terrorists.
Section 948a defines
an unlawful enemy
combatant as, “a person
who has engaged in
hostilities or who
has purposefully and
materially supported
hostilities against the
United States.”
What Congress fails
to say is one way a person
can be convicted of
being an unlawful enemy
combatant is through
hearsay evidence, or
rumors. The slightest
finger pointing can result
in a conviction in a court
of law.
The act goes on to
detail what happens to
an accused unlawful
Kayaking Trip
September 28 - 30, 2007
Golf Tournament
October 8 -10, 2007
Battle Ball
October 9, 2007
Day at the Lake
October 20, 2007
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
enemy combatant. The
detainee’s constitutional
right to Habeas Corpus,
or right to challenge
detention, is revoked.
The detainee cannot
call on the Geneva
Conventions, a code
of treatment for those
during times of warfare,
to save them.
Basically, the
detainee is stripped of
rights.
This means that in
a worse case scenario,
an innocent man could
be held in a prison for
an indefinite amount
of time without charge,
and without the right to
challenge his detention.
If the trial ever goes
to court, the detainee
does not have the
right to choose their
representation.
Furthermore, death
sentences can be handed
down to those who are
found guilty of crimes.
So not only does this
act allow an innocent
man to be found guilty
on baseless charges,
it allows them to die a
traitor’s death for it.
Amnesty International,
org, a website comprised
of those who campaign
for international human
rights, wrote an article
stating, “The past
five years have seen
the US. engage in
systematic violations of
international law, with
a distressing impact on
thousands of detainees
and their families.
Human rights violations
have included: Secret
detention, enforced
disappearance, torture
and other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment.
Massage for Teachers and Students sls off
$65 regular price in area (770) 214-9618
Carol Batey, LMT appointments only:
Carol S. Batey
886 Eagles Nest Cir
Carrollton, GA 30116
Lifestyle Coach
(615) 485-4548
car0137076@ aol .com
w ww.ar tlifesty lecoach .com
Housing Near college, 4 bedroom home,
$450 1 room private bath, 2 other
bedrooms S4OO Ist and last month rent.
Electric Included. S2OO dep. to be given
back.
Call Carol Batey 770-214-9618
Flowerland Florist
' w 410 New nan Road
\ C urru lllon, GA 30117
\ 770-536-11 96
J . ,
* Dozen Arranged Rose s '42.9 5
j? Dozen Cash & Carry Rom ?1 2.#5
outrages upon personal
dignity, including
humiliating treatment,
denial and restriction of
habeas corpus, indefinite
detention without charge
or trial, unfair trial
procedures.”
How Congress
ever voted this act
into law is beyond my
comprehension— who
exactly, in this war on
terror, are we fighting
against? Since when are
human lives allowed to
be thrust into the hands
of our sovereign leader,
with unchecked authority
over who lives and who
dies?
This act is a warning
sign; a red flag signaling
that we are all criminals
in the president’s eye. We
are all vulnerable. The
iron fist of the MCA can
come down on anyone.
THE WEST GEORGIAN
at anytime.
Perhaps the most
frightening aspect of this
act being implemented
is not what is in it, but
what it paved the way
for. The future laws that
follow this act can be
even more heinous.
Many in the
government, as well as
citizens, have been vying
for a repeal of the act,
which is the only real
solution to the problem.
If Congress
recognizes the mistake
they made, they will be
forever double checking
the fine print in the laws
they pass. All we have
to do now is wait— wait
for the repeal, wait for
change in power, and
wait for the injustices to
be righted.
The year 2008 can
not come soon enough.