Dispatch from the battlefield

A hearing that may lead to a trial of dirty bomb suspect José Padilla took place yesterday -- finally, after a three-year detention. I suppose this has some local interest because Padilla is a Chicagoan, and because he was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Before I go any further, let me make it clear that by criticizing the government, I am in no way trying to justify Padilla's actions. When Padilla lived in Chicago, he was a gang member with a fairly lengthy criminal record. By some accounts, he was prone to violence and not very bright. He's not the kind of guy I'd like living on my block. As for the government's case against him, I'm not privy to the facts; for all I know, Padilla is guilty. But in order for that determination to be made, he needs to stand trial.

Padilla, a US citizen, but classified as an illegal enemy combatant, has been held at a naval brig in South Carolina since June of 2002. As an illegal enemy combatant, he has been denied the protections of the Geneva Conventions. But he has also been denied rights ordinarily guaranteed to all citizens, such as the right to legal counsel and the right to a speedy and public trial.

One of the Bush Administration's justifications for this treatment is that O'Hare Airport is a battlefield in the Global War on Terror. Which would mean Padilla was captured on the field of battle.

Huh.

I'm just not buying it. Because then all the government has to do is claim that a crime -- committed on US soil by a US citizen -- is an act of terrorism, and it gets to suspend the Bill of Rights.