Joe Lieberman has a solution to rights for suspected terrorists who are U.S. citizens: take away their citizenship.
Joe Lieberman is Jewish. Hmm, I wonder how that idea worked for the Nazis?
(I love it when I can Godwin an argument before a discussion even starts.)
Haha, well played
The article doesn't clarify whether this would occur if you were merely a suspect or actually convicted. Also, "the revocation of citizenship would not be automatic and there would be a right to go to court and to appeal the decision," which suggests to me that you would need to be convicted of something first.
Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely inclined to agree with you – this is bad. But are you sure it would apply to someone who was merely a suspect?
Clearly Senator Lieberman's solution tramples over the whole concept of Type I error (innocent until proven guilty). The argument is the crime is so heinous that Type I doesn't apply: It's a you’re guilty now prove your innocence. Of course, our system already has a reversal, but it occurs after you are convicted of the crime (once in jail, it takes overwhelming evidence to get out), not based on suspicion which becomes a slippery slope: it is already very easy to tie almost every crime under the rubric of “terrorism.”
But I don't think it is appropriate to even begin discussion this rationally when Lieberman’s basic premise is shoot first and ask questions later. Their universe (and most of their arguments) center around an episode of 24, and not the real world.