Picking and choosing constitutional rights for terrorist

Wall Street Journal:

The Justice Department has determined that detainees tried by military commissions in the U.S. can claim at least some constitutional rights, particularly protection against the use of statements taken through coercive interrogations, officials said.

The conclusion, explained in a confidential memorandum whose contents were shared with The Wall Street Journal, could alter significantly the way the commissions operate -- and has created new divisions among the agencies responsible for overseeing the commissions.

Defense Department officials warn that the Justice Department position could reduce the chance of convicting some defendants. Military prosecutors have said involuntary statements comprise the lion's share of their evidence against dozens of Guantanamo prisoners who could be tried.

The Obama Justice Department's view is a sharp turn from that of the Bush administration, which argued detainees have no constitutional rights. It isn't clear how the Obama administration will act, but the Justice Department's legal counsel's office traditionally has the last word on constitutional interpretation in the executive branch. The White House declined to comment.

The dispute over what rights military commission defendants can claim has intensified as President Barack Obama tries to implement his decision to close the Guantanamo prison by January.

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There is an obvious answer to this problem and that is to keep the detainees at Gitmo until the end of the war and not bother to try them. They are not entitled to a trial anyway. The laws of war say that a combatant can be held in custody until the end of the war to keep him from returning to the battlefield. In the past this was seen as more humane than killing prisoners taken during a war. Now the human rights wackos seem to think they are entitled to a trail and full constitutional rights.