Caro Don:
sé que puede sonar un poco "demodé" las patentes de corso; pero en 2001 tras el 11-S, en el Congreso de los Estados Unidos de América, el congresista Ron PAul, de Texas (Dios salve al Gran Estado Soberano de Texas), recordó que el artículo 1, sección de la Constitución de los EE.UU. permiten al Congreso, otorgar Patentes de Corso (Letters of MArque), teniendo en cuenta que la Guerra contra el Terrorismo era contra indivisuos y organizaciones, no estados.
FOR RELEASE:
October 11, 2001
Paul Offers President New Tool in the War on Terrorism
Washington, DC: Congressman Ron Paul today presented Congress with the "Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001," legislation designed to give President Bush an additional tool in the fight against terrorism. He also introduced legislation that changes the federal definition of "piracy" to include air piracy.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to issue letters of marque and reprisal when a precise declaration of war is impossible due to the vagueness of the enemy. Paul's bill would allow Congress to authorize the President to specifically target Bin Laden and his associates using non-government armed forces. Since it is nearly impossible for U.S. intelligence teams to get close to Bin Laden, the marque and reprisal approach creates an incentive for people in Afghanistan or elsewhere to turn him over to the U.S.
"The President promised the American people that the federal government would use every available resource to defeat the global terror network," Paul stated. "Congress should immediately issue letters of marque and reprisal to add another weapon to the U.S. arsenal. The war on terrorism is very different from past wars, because the enemy is a group of individuals who do not represent any nation. Western intelligence in the Middle East is exceedingly limited, so we should avail ourselves of the assistance of those with better information to track, capture, or kill Bin Laden."
The Act allows Congress to narrowly target terrorist enemies, lessening the likelihood of a full-scale war with any Middle Eastern nations. The Act also threatens terrorist cells worldwide by making it more difficult for our enemies to simply slip back into civilian populations or hide in remote locations.
"Once letters of marque and reprisal are issued, every terrorist is essentially a marked man," Paul concluded. "Congress should issue such letters and give the President another weapon to supplement our military strikes."
Así en abril de 2002, el decano de la Universidad de Columbia, a petición del Senado de los Estados Unidos, entre otras consideraciones, indicaba:
Some have disputed this account of the declare war clause, arguing in support of a congressional pre-condition by reference to Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 which gives Congress the power to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, . . .” This somewhat arcane aspect of constitutional text, however, cannot bear the weight of the claim. Letters of Marque and Reprisal are grants of authority from Congress to private citizens, not the President. Their purpose is to expressly authorize seizure and forfeiture of goods by such citizens in the context of undeclared hostilities. Without such authorization, the citizen could be treated under international law as a pirate. Occasions where one’s citizens undertake hostile activity can often entangle the larger sovereignty, and therefore, it was sensible for Congress to desire to have a regulatory check upon it. Authorizing Congress to moderate or oversee private action, however, says absolutely nothing about the President’s responsibilities under the Constitution.
De
http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.c ... wit_id=438Reprisal: no debe confundirse con acción de represalia, en el término clásico acuñado durante la SGM, como el fusilamiento de rehenes. Se trata, de acuerdo con el ordenamiento militar estadounidense de una acción concreta en espacio y tiempo que violaría el derecho de guerra de los oponentes, como consecuencia de una acción previa.
Articulo 1, Sección 8, Constitución de los EE.UU de América:
Section 8: The Congress shall have power
To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States...
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
To provide and maintain a navy;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress...
¿Son las "contratistas" empresas corssarias? ¡Cuantas veces entramos en un edificio de la administración española, central, autonómica o local que la seguridad depende de una empresa privada? A veces, donde no llega el estado, o no debe llegar, otros pueden llegar.
Imaginaos un buque similar al P-61 Chilreu, armado con 2 x 20 mm. y un lanzagranadas 40 mm., e incluso con un helicoptero del tamaño de un Hiller...
Saludos.