Free Liberal

Coordinating towards higher values

| Features

Constitutional Responses to Terrorism

by Ron Paul

It has been over 6 years since the atrocities of September 11 were committed and there are still some very basic measures that need to be taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and make America safer. I have proposed legislation to help with these efforts and will continue to fight in Congress for the safety and security of the American people.

My legislation entitled The Marque and Reprisal Act of 2007 (HR 3216) makes the surgical strike option available to the President in our mission to capture Bin Laden. Our military has been pursuing him without result for far too long now, and it is high time ALL constitutional tools were utilized in the hunt for this dangerous madman. As an American it sickens me to know that Bin Laden and top leaders of al Qaeda remain at large and thumbing their noses at us, while we unravel the sacred fabric of our constitution out of fear. It is Osama Bin Laden and the perpetrators of terrorist attacks that ought to be afraid of us, not the other way around. The answers are found in the Constitution. We should boldly root out the perpetrators and not let them get away with their crimes against us. As the home of the brave we should use Letters of Marque and Reprisal to bring Bin Laden to justice.

Also, we need to take serious steps to prevent terrorists from gaining easy access to targets on our soil. Quite alarmingly, even with the knowledge that the 19 terrorist hijackers entered our country legally, and that 15 of them were from Saudi Arabia , student visas from terrorist sponsoring countries are still far too easily obtained. In a baffling move President Bush struck a deal with Saudi King Abdullah in 2005 to allow 21,000 more Saudi young men into the US on student Visas. Of course, not all students from terror sponsoring countries are terrorists, but I place a higher premium on the security of the American people than the convenience of citizens of hostile countries. We should not be making the goals of would-be terrorists easier to accomplish, but rather should be vigilant about defending against enemies at every turn. They should not be slipping through our doors so easily, using our immigration laws against us, and that is why I proposed the Terror Immigration Elimination Act (HR 3217) to toughen standards for VISAS from countries on the State Department's list of terrorist sponsoring countries in addition to Saudi Arabia . Just as you decide who to invite to a dinner party in your home, we should be in charge of who we allow in this country, without apology.

A lot has been done to fight the War on Terror and much of it has been misdirected, but there are some tools still needed and more progress to be made. My bills The Marque and Reprisal Act of 2007 and The Terror Immigration Elimination Act are logical steps in the right direction.

Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican congressman from Texas.

« Super Tuesday is coming up -- 23 states, 70 million votes. That is almost as much as “American Idol,” do you realize that? | Main | Why We Need Due Process »

Comments

This really does show Paul's ignorance. Letters of Marque existed as a matter of international law when the Constitution was written. It was effectively outlawed by the mid-1850s. The US did not sign the Declaration of Paris of 1856 which outlawed Letters of Marque but it did invoke the Declaration during both the American Civil War and the Spanish American War.

Bottom line, Letters of Marque work only if all parties agree to them. Without such agreement, privateering is simply called piracy. No one has recognized Letters of Marque in one hundred and fifty years.

We already have a bounty on Osama's head, to the tune of $50 Million which is the closest legal item to this that is justifible by current law.

Paul also completely ignores Article 1, Section 8, Subsection 10 of the Constitution which authorizes congress to Define and Punish offenses agains the Laws of Nations. This is an important subsection because while you declare war on nations, a declaration of war is useless and would actually tie our hands defensivly in a larger conflict, like the WOT where there are multiple nations involved and the larger enemy isn't associated with a single country.

# posted at by MatthewN

Article I, Section 8, Subscection X says, "[Congress has the power] To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;" I couldn't quickly find a clear definition for "laws of nations" so I can't say whether your point is valid.

Also, for the record, sub-section XI says, "[Congress has the power] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;"

# posted at by Jeff

Hey Matt -- I think Dr. Paul would point out, as he has several times in the past, that "privateering" without permission worked really well for Ross Perot with the hostage crisis in the late 70s, and that it is likely to do so again.

Out of curiosity, from whence comes "international law"? Is that simply the sum of all treaties among states? And if so, wouldn't it be better called "inter-state conventions" or "inter-state agreements" instead of laws?

# posted at by Bo

Matt is incorrect on many points as others have pointed out.

Congressman Paul first submitted this bill on 10/11/2001 and I think he has resubmitted it each year since.

Paul has been saying and doing the right thing for a long time. America should start listening.

# posted at by Andy