George Bush has so much confidence that he can get his compliant Congress to pass any legislation he wants, that he is still, after being knocked down two other times and ignoring it, sure that he and his Congress can overrule the Constitution and the Supreme Court for the third time in a row.
While, again, saying that he will abide by the Court's decision, he signals quite clearly that he has no intention of doing that, by saying that he will get legislation passed to get around the Court's decision.
Bush is being intentionally ignorant of the fact that any legislation passed by Congress must meet the provisions of the Constitution to be legal. Here are the Supreme Court's decisions against Bush's handling of the prisoners at the Guantanamo prison:
June 28, 2004: Foreign nationals imprisoned without charge at Guantanamo Bay are entitled to bring legal action challenging their captivity in the U. S. federal civilian courts. (Habeas corpus)
June 29, 2006: Procedures set up by the president violate both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the laws of war set out in the Geneva Conventions. (Military courts)
June 12, 2008: Foreigners held under indefinite detention at the Guantanamo base have the right to seek release in civilian court. (Habeas corpus, again)
The important thing to note here is that the decision of June, 2004 is exactly the same as the decision of June, 2008, and that the June, 2006 decision was a ruling against using military courts to try the prisoners.
Bush has defied the Constitution since the prison was set up and defied the Court on habeas corpus since June, 2004 and defied the Court on using military courts since June, 2006, and has no intention of ever complying with a Supreme Court decision.
Bush has been told twice before what he has to do to be in compliance with the law, and he hasn't done it yet. Instead, he still thinks that , with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi waiting anxiously to see what he wants them to do next to subvert the Constitution, and with his Gonzales redux Mukasey waiting anxiously to see what kind of legal opinion he wants, Bush thinks he can ignore, again, this Supreme Court and the Constitution with HIS authority and HIS Congress and HIS Attorney General.
Based on the fact that he's gotten away with it twice before, the odds are really good that he'll get away with it again. Bush is not about to let one of his prisoners have access to Constitutional protections and our court system, if he can prevent it any way he can. That's scary, because the criminal mind, like Bush's, sees the solution of a problem that won't go away as to just get rid of it and go on to the next criminal enterprise.
It's encouraging that at least five members of the Supreme Court were able to read the Constitution and see, just as you and I can, that, Well, gee whiz, look at that, habeas corpus is still in there. As if it had disappeared since the last decision on that, four years ago.
Even after they pointed that out to George Bush, the first time and now the second time, he's made it clear that he couldn't care less, he ain't gonna do it, and never will.
Bush has ignored the previous four year old habeas corpus ruling and any since. Do you really think he's going to abide, at last, by this one? As he says he will. As he said he would with the previous one. And, didn't.
Let's wait and see how many of the prisoners wind up in a court of law, having their habeas corpus petitions heard fairly and even-handedly. Remember, fair and even-handed, as seen by Bush and his court appointees, are the despised attributes of the goddam liberal sonsofabitches, attributes that have been, along with the aforementioned liberals, methodically purged completey from the Bush administration.
I wouldn't wager anything on the chance that even one of those guys will wind up in a court of law. And if by chance they do, their chance of getting their habeas corpus petitions treated fairly and even-handedly are about the same as their chance of becoming president.