Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Balance of Power: The Supreme Court has reined in the powers of the executive branch, curtailing the Bush administration's ability to hold terrorist suspects indefinitely without access to courts. While the president isn't powerless to hold terrorists, the suspects now have access to due process, making it trickier for the executive branch to keep sensitive information a secret while justifying the detentions.

Whether you agree with the Supreme Court or not, I'm guessing the decision was at least partially influenced by the prisoner-abuse scandal. While that scandal centered mostly in Iraq, it called into question much of how this administration is handling prisoners in Cuba and beyond.

The Supreme Court appeared to be attempting to strike a balance between the wartime powers of the president and the protection of the populace from an overzealous government. Bush doesn't appear to have abused any of his executive powers through the detention of Americans or foreign combatants. We're facing a wartime enemy who belongs to no particular nation or nationality and wears no uniform or insignia. Unlike conventional war, we don't know who our enemy is or how they'll attack. We have to use unconventional means to defend ourselves without sacrificing our American principles.

But while a state of war exists, there is no obvious end to this conflict. Congress has no one to declare war on. And we won't finish after we invade somebody's capital and capture the leader. So it would set a dangerous precedent to allow the executive branch unlimited power of detention under any declaration of possible danger.

The balance sought by the Supreme Court will be a work in progress, to be tweaked by other court rulings later on. In the tug of war for power, Bush apparently tried to grab a little too much. It will be interesting to see how the reduction of power will affect our prosecution of the war on terror.