In June, the US Supreme Court released its already infamous decision in Boumediene, holding that terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay have habeas corpus rights that must be heard in federal district court.
We now have public opinion polling data from Rasmussen confirming that the American public thinks the US Supreme Court went overboard in extending protections to terrorists:
Seventy-one percent (71%) [of nationwide likely voters] say the suspects should not be given the rights U.S. citizens have in court, while only 18% think they should…
While some politicians, foreign officials and non-government groups like Amnesty International argue that the Bush administration is acting outside of the law in its treatment of these terrorist suspects, just 30% of Americans believe they should have access to U.S. courts, as opposed to 54% who favor the special military trials.
Nearly six out of 10 Americans (59%) also say the special prison camp for terrorists at Guantanamo, where the United States now detains 280 inmates, should not be closed. Twenty-six percent (26%) believe it should be.
McCain has said Boumediene was wrongly decided, while Obama has praised the Court’s decision, along with the predictable set at the New York Times editorial page, etc. At least the American people still get that there’s a war going on, that there are evil men who want to kill our innocent civilians at any opportunity, and refuse to observe the niceties of treaty law.
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