The Moose Waxes Rhapsodic

The Bull Moose has quite an interesting take on Hamdan.

That was the response the Moose had to the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision. It was quite remarkable. In America, extraordinary rights are accorded even to our enemies who would use all means necessary to kill us and our families. How many countries in the history of civilization would give these rights to killers who refuse to abide by the rules of war and who don't exactly adhere to international treaties?

What a country!

The Moose does not agree with the ruling. As the Moose has made clear, he is a Hamiltonian who is deferential to Presidential power during wartime. But it is not the end of the world. Its impact is limited.

Now, it is Congress' turn. While this decision is a clear setback for Presidential prerogatives, the GOP welcomes a Congressional deliberation on legislation authorizing tribunals. Analysis that suggests that this is a political setback for the GOP has it exactly wrong. Republicans would like nothing better than a pre-election debate over whether Osama's buddies should receive ACLU approved rights. It is likely that many Democrats will join Republicans in supporting tough guidelines for military commissions. This is the law and order issue of our time.

This is in line with the post I linked yesterday from Andrew Cochran that said this decision will force Congress to act. Because, at the end of the day, something has to be done. There are deep problems with the decision by the Supreme Court, not the least of which is their intrusion into treaty-space, which is unprecedented. But there will have to be Congressional action on this issue - and soon. Congress will have to go on record and will no longer be able to blame everything on Bush.

It should be rather interesting to watch.