To my mind, this seems like a clear contravention of the Constitution. An American student studying in Saudi Arabia was detained in 2003 (and has been held in custody ever since) apparently at the behest of the US Government.
He has been denied due process, is rumoured to have been tortured, and remains in a Saudi jail. His parents have sued to get him returned to the US and to see the evidence against him.
The US Government refuses to provide it, saying that it is must remain "secret". Besides, they aren't holding him. The Saudis are..
Bullsh*t.
Before you say, "Oh, they must know what they are doing" and "He must be a terrorist" think about that for a second. What if you were he? Think about all the cases historically and recently when the government has been wrong: Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam, invasion of Grenada, remaining in Iraq (Bush II), the deficit, Sacco and Vanzetti, the Rosenbergs, etc, etc, etc.
They may be right, they may be wrong. But circumventing the Constitution by having a "friendly" power hold on to and possibly torture an American citizen is just wrong.
Posted by artandscience at February 10, 2005 08:45 PM