NYT: "Our Battered Constitution"

The fundamental right in the case of the Guantanamo detainees is the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law. A government with the power to spirit people away and declare that's the end of the matter is exactly the kind of government the United States has always claimed to oppose, and has sometimes fought. For the United States itself to become that kind of government is spectacularly scary.

In seeking the stay of Judge Green's ruling, the administration showed yesterday that it is committed to being that kind of government.

Barbara Olshansky, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has filed legal challenges on behalf of many detainees, said the administration believes it has 'carte blanche' when it comes to fighting terror: 'It's pretty alarming.'