I’ve been working and travelling and whatnot a lot lately, so maybe I missed the detailed discussion about this. Breaking my own rule, the WaPo piece has just enough details to be very disturbing:

Under Bush’s proposal, any detainees eventually put forward for trial — a group that may or may not include all 14 suspects who figured in Wednesday’s announcement — could be convicted or acquitted under conditions that differ sharply from those in standard U.S. criminal trials. The “jury” in a trial by the commissions not involving the death penalty would consist of at least five military officers, and in death penalty cases a dozen officers. A presiding officer, dubbed the military “judge” and possessing legal training or experience, would decide all legal matters but would not vote.

Those eligible for such military trials would be any foreigners deemed “unlawful enemy combatants,” a term the administration defines more broadly than Bush did in an executive order shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks. That category would include not just al-Qaeda and Taliban members, but also anyone who is affiliated with a “force or organization” engaged in hostilities against the United States and its allies, who commits hostile acts for such groups, or — most broadly — who “supports hostilities” that aid such groups.

What the fuck does that even mean? Would that include blogging favorably about Hezbollah’s reconstruction efforts in South Lebanon?

Terrorism would be only one of 27 offenses that could be charged under the Bush plan; the others include conspiracy, hostage-taking, torture, rape and hijacking.

Again, this is getting scarier by the day. It’d be nice to see the whole list, WaPo people. Is “subversive speech” on there too?

During the trials, prosecutors would be permitted to use classified information to secure convictions; defendants and their lawyers would not be told about such information. Prosecutors could also rely on hearsay, or evidence obtained indirectly, and evidence obtained by coercion if the panel’s chief deemed it reliable and directly related to the accusations.

That’s full-blown fascist stuff there, kids. Secret trials, hidden “evidence,” uninformed lawyers.

So far, people don’t seem to care about these details because they “only” have been applied to brown people and foreigners. That’s going to change. As soon as it suits the Republicans, they’ll apply the broadest definitions to include people living here in the US, people they want to disappear and shut up. The media won’t tell you about it, because they may not even know. And by the time the ACLU or someone objects, you won’t find a single judge or legislator willing to challenge these laws for fear of looking “weak on terror.”

They’re thowing out the last of our liberties and protections for a reason, I firmly believe that.