Posted on 03/02/2009 8:45:13 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
THE US military could have kicked in doors to raid a suspected terrorist cell in the United States without a warrant under a Bush-era legal memo the Justice Department made public.
The memo, from October23, 2001, also said constitutional free-speech protections and a prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure could take a back seat to military needs in fighting terrorism inside the country.
It was one of nine previously undisclosed memos and legal opinions which shed light on former U.S. President George W. Bush's legal guidance as he launched a war against terrorism after the September 11 attacks.
"The government's compelling interests in wartime justify restrictions on the scope of individual liberty," it said.
Other memos held that the president had broad power to detain U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism and to suspend treaty obligations on issues as seen fit.
The memos depict an administration apparently determined to assert sweeping powers for the president after the shock of September 11, and add fuel to critics' charges that fundamental constitutional protections were threatened in the process.
"The current campaign against terrorism may require even broader exercises of federal power domestically," Justice Department officials John Yoo and Robert Delahunty wrote White House counsel Alberto Gonzales in the October 23 memo.
"We do not think that a military commander carrying out a raid on a terrorist cell would be required to demonstrate probable cause or to obtain a (search) warrant," they said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Constitution's Fourth Amendment ordinarily requires a probable cause and a warrant to execute a search. However, the memo said those requirements "are unsuited to the demands of wartime."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Wonder why they felt the need to make this stuff public?
The “Jack Bauer” memos.
Just a little distraction to keep the masses from noticing the small *blip* in the market.....;)
I don’t think terrorists should have constitutional rights. I’m sure none of the 3,000 9/11 victims would be willing to die for them, for example.
Honest to goodness, what in the hell is the release of these memoranda going to accomplish other than to embolden our enemies?
Simple... make the liberals feel happy while they're getting their pockets picked by Obama.
Yes. More dispatches from the Obama polit bureau. Do not question. Obey.
It's going to let him blunt Republican criticism when he attempts the same actions, for whatever his purpose.
And yet he didn’t do it, did he?
Individual liberties were kept intact. Guantanamo Bay was “Geneva Approved”. Iraq had uranium. Iraq was won. Al-Queda has been crippled.
Why is Bush the most hated man in America?
Oh yeah, the media wants it that way.
the hate Bush atmosphere is still alive and well among the lefties.
However, I suspect most Americans would agree that if the battlefield had been in the US, as AQ wanted, instead of Iraq, these contingency plans would be needed and wanted.
THIS is why I read and post on FR...you people are SMART! I’ll bet anything you are totally correct. Great post.
We are going to be measuring the AMERICAN blood he spills in acre/feet, like irrigation water...
I don’t know, I can’t decide if most people have any sense at all anymore.
We are no longer safe and our sovereignty is indeed at risk.
I ust posted this on another thread (dual threads), great minds....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2197879/posts?page=13
“We are no longer safe and our sovereignty is indeed at risk.”
And that is the WHOLE point!!!!!!
This dork in chief is making 2012 an easy win.
Sorry, I have a sticky “j”
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