Unjust Society Demands Action

A man went to jail for counteracting the government's illegal acts in May of this year. Lt. Commander Matt Diaz was helping in the defense of detainees at Gitmo, and released the identities of those being held illegally even though the government refused to. Since that time, the government's actions have been declared illegal. Yet Diaz is spending time in jail.

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On May 18, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz was sentenced to six months in a Navel brig and removal from the Navy for courageously upholding the constitution of the United States. Apparently this is a very serious crime in America today. Lt. Cmdr. Diaz is actually counting himself lucky, as the 41-year-old officer with 19-years of service to the U.S. Navy faced a possible 14 years in prison.

Diaz was a military attorney assigned to investigate abuses of prisoners at Guantánamo, the legal black hole dungeon that operates outside of domestic and international law according to the Bush administration. Taking this assignment seriously not only some-what predictably ended his military career; it might have landed himself in prison until the year 2021.

On orders from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S. had refused to release the names of the prisoners that were being held at Guantánamo. The U.S. continued to stonewall all requests for this information even after a federal court ruled that the names must be turned over.

Diaz took action to uphold the law, knowing the risks involved.
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International law attorney Scott Horton, writing for Harpers, points out, “A federal court subsequently ruled that the Navy’s decision to withhold the names was unlawful, and issued an order compelling their disclosure–so the Pentagon’s withholding of the names, and not Diaz’s action, was unlawful.

In the words of one of the greatest Americans of the nineteenth century, Henry David Thoreau, ‘Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.’”

We have a right to be proud of the brave men and women who are fighting to keep this country one of principles that ar acted upon, and adhere to the rule of law. If they go to jail for it, all the more reason for pride.

There are a lot of criminals in the administration, and they belong in jail. Matt Diaz is too good for their company, so I suggest Nuremberg might be more appropriate.

The actions of our war criminals holding high office are violations of all our traditional values, and of the Rule of Law. When violating orders is necessary to uphold our laws, the wrong people are wielding those laws. The power of carrying out the law has been given to criminals. It is time to remove them from the American government, to save us from further crimes.