Spring Break
College Democrats debate URI GOP, score higher in two of three rounds
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: News
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The Democrats won the overall debate in points, beating the Republicans on the issues of Guantanamo detainees and gay marriage.
The main point from the Democrats concerning the treatment of prisoners in the detention facility in Cuba was that the U.S. Constitution and a recent 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirm the right of habeas corpus to combatants.
"Not only are we in violation of our own laws ... we are also in violation of international law itself and also the third Geneva Convention," said Ryan Drugan, a College Democrat. "We are not granting these enemy combatants, P.O.W.s, the right to a speedy trial and fair treatment."
While the Democrats acknowledged that in times of invasion and rebellion habeas corpus can be suspended, even for U.S. citizens, they said right now those instances do not apply.
"[Some] Republican senators support this position as well, most notably Sen. Arlen Specter," said Alaric Bobby, of the College Democrats. "There is no invasion, there is no rebellion."
He also cited an example of the kinds of mistakes that can take place in such a time of vague and indistinct enemies, in which U.S. forces detained a Kuwaiti accountant for four years. This accountant gave no more than $100 to a charity that was indirectly linked to al Qaeda, and was sent to Guantanamo. For four years he sat in a cell, and when it was finally time for his review, the military could not produce one piece of evidence that linked him to any terrorist organization, let alone al- Qaeda.
"We can't read the minds of the people who are giving to these charities, so it's unknown to us whether he knew where the money was going in the end," said Joe Livolsi, speaking for the Republicans. "The fact remains that there was a signal that he was giving money to an organization that sent its money down the line to enemies [of the United States], and that was cause enough."
