Habeas Corpus's Execution Essay: The Fight Against Terrorism

After seeing the damage terrorism has caused throughout the world, it is hard to justify providing rights to people who want to deny innocent people of their right to live. Terrorism is an untraditional form of warfare and requires action - Action based on proactivity and security for the safety of American citizens. The government is willing to suspend habeas corpus for the safety of its people, but granting habeas corpus inhibits the execution of these actions. Habeas Corpus should not be given to suspected terrorists, because terrorism should not be treated in a traditional manner, Counter-terrorism requires new methods, and can legally be justified.
Terrorism is an entirely new beast when it comes to its mechanics. Compared to traditional

Providing the writ of habeas corpus may not play out as expected. The entire purpose of fighting terrorism boils down to the protecting American lives, and preventing future terror attacks. Trials against terrorists may do the opposite by leaking national secrets, because “Much of the evidence accumulated against the detainees can't be revealed in open court, since it comes from top-secret intelligence sources and surveillance systems, as well as from third-country intelligence services that refuse to testify in U.S. proceedings.” (Klein 4) In addition to this, terrorists should not be trusted to tell the truth in court; They share no morals with America, and they vow to destroy the government that is showing them mercy despite their horrific crimes. Terrorism repeatedly threatens soldiers day and night, and it is hard to justify giving trial to non-American citizens that have dedicated their lives to eradicating the western world from the

Under the constitution, “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it" (Longley 7). So, under certain circumstances, habeas corpus can be suspended to combat terrorism; This has been utilized by George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The assassinations of Osama Bin Laden and countless others are the result of suspending habeas corpus; suspending habeas corpus is a tool for eliminating dangers to the country and its people. A trial for terrorists in this case seems senseless and counter intuitive. The government will not take the time to capture known or potential terrorists in order to give them a court hearing. Instead, the military uses drone strikes to eliminate terrorists and suspend habeas corpus in the process. Targets are not granted the writ but instead are determined by if they meet the requirements of ¨the white papers.”“The white paper specifies the conditions that must be met before a citizen is targeted for [drone strike]. Among them is that he or she must be planning an ‘imminent’ terrorist attack.”(Robinson 8) The white papers have been used in the execution of a radical American terrorist under Obama, Anwar al-Awlaki, and nobody batted an eye. If the government denied habeas corpus rights to an American citizen, there should be no problem denying them from a foreign terrorist and enemy of the state. A