Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy [Paperback]

Barbara Olshansky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2002 | Series: Open Media Series

Since the attacks of September 11th, there has been a sweeping revision of U.S. immigration laws, foreign intelligence gathering operations, and domestic law enforcement procedures. While aimed at countering terrorism and bringing to justice those individuals who are responsible for carrying out acts of terror against the U.S., many of these measures also involve a profound curtailment of our constitutional rights and liberties. Among the most controversial of the new measures is the unprecedented order authorizing the creation of special military tribunals to try non-citizens suspected of terrorism.
In Secret Trials and Executions, Olshansky helps us step back for a moment to assess several of the Bush Administration's 2001 policy pronouncements, and examine how the Constitution addresses the cardinal issues of military authority and the requirements of due process and equal protection under the law, and how the courts and Congress have defined the proper roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches in our federal government.
To provide a framework for this analysis, Olshansky looks at the history of military tribunals, whether the current situation warrants the type of forum proposed by the president, the official positions that our government has taken with regard to the use of military tribunals by other nations, the legal basis for the specific form of military tribunal that is established by the Military Order, what alternatives exist to bring to justice those who may be guilty of such crimes, what constitutional principles are at stake in this decision, and what the decision to use military tribunals will mean in terms of this country's credibility and moral authority in the international arena.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

BARBARA OLSHANSKY is the Leah Kaplan Distinguished Professor in Human Rights at Stanford University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press; First Edition edition (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583225374
• ISBN-13: 978-1583225370
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,052,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > War & Peace

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Destroying America in Order to Save it, December 20, 2002

By 

C. Colt "It Just Doesn't Matter" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy (Paperback)

In "Secret Trial and Executions", Barbara Olshansky , Assistant Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, examines the Military Order signed by the Bush Regime on November 13th 2001, that effectively suspended constitutional rights for all non citizens living in the United States and subjected them to arrest, secret trials, and secret executions. The direct implication of this order, according to Olshansky is that if you live in the United States and are not an American citizen, the President, or the Secretary of Defense can order you to be arrested, tried, and executed with no public accountability or explanation other than stating that you are a terrorist. While the Military Order contains official language regarding the humane treatment of prisoners, Olshanky correctly points out that with the removal of constitutional protection and the complete lack of government accountability, humane treatment and a fair trial depend exclusively on the good will of the arresting authorities. Furthermore, the Military Order's grounds for arresting, trying and executing non-citizens is so overly broad, according to Olshansky, that the government can effectively perform these actions at will without having to account for themselves.

While American citizens might be tempted to dismiss the implications of the Military Order as not really pertaining to them, Olshansky points out that this isn't really true. Since the birth of the nation, all residents of the United States regardless of their citizenship status enjoyed the same constitutional protection. By eliminating the constitutional protection that has been enjoyed by all non-citizens including the ancestors of most American citizens, Olshansky argues that the Bush Regime is effectively destroying a 200 year-old judicial practice that is the cornerstone of American government, and is replacing it with arbitrary, despotic authority.

Olshansky also points out that contrary to the President's claims, the Bush regime does not possess the legal authority to arbitrarily arrest, try, and execute non-citizens as terrorists. Contrary to the President's first legal claim, neither the constitution nor any federal statute authorize him to create military courts to try all suspected terrorists against the United States. Contrary to the President's second claim, while the Congressional Joint Resolution does authorize the Use of Military Force and permits the president to activate reserves and send troops to Afghanistan, it does not authorize him to set up military courts and to try any captives resulting from the use of force. It also does not authorize him to randomly arrest, try, and kill non-citizens. And contrary to the President's third claim, while sections 831 and 836 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) delineate the rules by which the President may conduct military hearings, they do not authorize him to create military hearings.

In the past, the United States Department of State has roundly condemned nations such as China, Egypt and Peru for dispensing justice through secret military trials identical to the ones created by the Bush regime's military order. By setting up the same type of government, Olshanky correctly argues, the United States is effectively declaring open season on human rights. Olshansky concludes that Americans are not stupid or callous enough to confuse the word "terrorist" with the word "immigrant".

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended reading for students of Political Science, August 10, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy (Paperback)

Secret Trials And Executions: Military Tribunals And The Threat To Democracy by Barbara Olshansky (Assistant Legal Director, Center for Constitutional Rights) is a serious-minded and somewhat startling examination of the Bush administration's "Military Order" in the wake of the September 11th attacks. According to Secret Trials and Executions, this executive order and its call for secret trial proceedings in which charges, evidence, and verdicts never need be revealed to the public is a dangerous transition toward a form of totalitarian government which can tyrannize the American people at will. An eye-opening, sober, and very realistic of the dangerous path down which American justice is heading, Secret Trials And Executions is highly recommended reading for students of Political Science, Judicial Studies, and most especially, civil liberties activists.

0 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Alarmist Junk, January 20, 2006

By 

Mike Crestwood (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Trials and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy (Paperback)

The author is obviosly an ACLU zealot who sees every facet of America's government as something from an Orwellian nightmare. Worthless junk. Save your money and buy a comic book instead.