When he was captured, we heard his name a great deal, but it quickly fell off the radar screen.
Jose Padilla was captured on May 8 under suspicion of plotting a "dirty bomb" attack on the United States with the backing of al-Qaida.
Attorney General John Ashcroft allowed himself a huge victory lap when Padilla was captured, claiming that Padilla's arrest meant a major terrorist attack had been averted. The White House quickly retreated from Ashcroft's alarmist rhetoric.
According to The Associated Press on March 12, Padilla will finally be able to see an attorney after nine months, thanks to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Michael B. Mukasey.
Nine months. Nine months for a U.S. citizen accused of a very serious crime before he could even speak to his lawyer.
Nine months for a man never convicted of any wrongdoing in a court of law.
The Justice Department really broke the mold when it figured out what to do with people like Padilla. Want to deny them basic civil rights? Just designate them "enemy combatants" (whatever that means) and, as if by magic, the government can treat them however it sees fit.
And how did the government justify not letting Padilla speak to attorneys? By claiming that it would increase the risk of future terrorist attacks because Padilla's lawyers might encourage him not to give the government helpful information.
Wow, you have to give these lawyers credit. The government seems to believe that after his bizarre and frightening religious extremism somehow begins to fade, the lawyers' godlike gift of persuasion might still convince Padilla not to talk.
With war looming on the horizon, we have become so focused that we easily forget almost anything else. We forget about domestic politics, and, more importantly, we forget about the bigger war we are waging right now: the War on Terrorism.
No war is fought without casualties. However, when the first casualty in a war is our nation's highest ideals, we ought to stop and take notice.
Our democracy is built on mistrust of the government, with inalienable rights secured by the U.S. Constitution. I understand that the government claims Padilla is a very dangerous man, but I'd still like to see that decided in courtroom by a jury.
No right in our society is more fundamental than the right to legal counsel. It is one of the most important protections we have to prevent the government from treating people unfairly.
And yet, all we hear from the Bush administration is harsh criticism whenever someone stands up for the rights of these alleged terrorists. They are classified as unpatriotic; because they are not for unlimited government authority, they are clearly in league with the "evil doers."
All the while I thought that defending freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution was one of the most patriotic things a person could do.
Still, the saddest thing in this situation isn't the government's willingness to trample on the Constitution. The saddest thing is that the government justifies this by preying on people's very real and legitimate fear of future terrorist attacks.
Padilla can't see a lawyer because it might prevent the capture of future potential terrorists. Oh, and don't listen too closely while we try to explain exactly why that is.
This is a great justification because who's against capturing more terrorists? If we could save the world just by violating some civil rights in the short term, shouldn't we do it?
If that were really the choice, maybe the answer would be "yes." The truth is, after nine months in the can, Padilla's knowledge of what al-Qaida is doing right now is probably somewhat less clear than the regular CNN viewer's.
As a warning, if you have watched CNN in the past few months, you may hold vital information that could constitute a serious security breach, so keep your viewing habits to yourself. You never know when the next "enemy combatant" might be you.
Benjamin Thelen is a philosophy and political science senior. Reach him at benjamin.thelen@asu.edu.
