Repeal the Military Commissions Act

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 presents a grave threat to liberty and the rule of law in the United States in the following ways:

It revokes habeas corpus, thereby giving the power to imprison people without trial for as long as the President likes

It legalizes torture

It creates a secret committee controlled by the President that can declare anyone to be an enemy, and thereby strip away their legal rights guaranteed by the Constitution

It ends protection of prisoners of war by the Geneva Conventions

It removes the right to a speedy trial

It gives George W. Bush and other top officials legal amnesty for any war crimes has committed

It sets up absurd kangaroo courts that fail to meet the most fundamental standards of justice recognized by free nations, with unfair trials kept hidden from the American public

The Military Commissions Act does nothing to make America more secure. Rather, the Military Commissions Act makes America less secure by crippling the accountability of American government to the people. Partial fixes are not enough. Amendments to certain aspects of the Military Commissions Act that leave other aspects intact fail to address the full scope of the problem. Therefore, we ask for a simple and complete solution: The absolute and total repeal of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.