--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the 'enemy combatant' cases of Padilla…" description: "\"If the 'enemy combatant' cases of Padilla and Hamdi present a clash between liberty and security, each side champions one while giving short shrift to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/benjamin-wittes-9097_enemy_if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla_1611714.jpg" --- # If the 'enemy combatant' cases of Padilla and Hamdi… ![“If the 'enemy combatant' cases of Padilla and Hamdi present a clash between liberty and security, each side champions one while giving short shrift to the other.” quote by Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/benjamin-wittes-9097_enemy_if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla_1611714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/benjamin-wittes-9097_enemy_if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla_1611714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/benjamin-wittes-9097_enemy_if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla_1611714.jpg) > “If the 'enemy combatant' cases of Padilla and Hamdi present a clash between liberty and security, each side champions one while giving short shrift to the other.” [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts liberty and security in enemy combatant cases, noting each side emphasizes its own value while downplaying the other. **In simple terms:** Liberty vs security trade‑off in legal cases. Key Takeaway Balance rights with safety. Themes law politics ethics Mood analytical concerned Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - policy debate - court rulings - public opinion Key Concepts civil liberties national security Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect liberty in security measures? - How can policy address both concerns equally? A Different Perspective Focusing on one side can oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cases Padilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases-padilla-6146666/) [Clash Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clash-liberty-6146664/) [Combatant Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combatant-cases-6146665/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Combatant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-combatant-2747090/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Liberty And Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-and-security-213632/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short/) ## Related quotes > [If you're an American citizen and you decide to join up with ISIS, we're not going to read you your Miranda rights. You're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/if-you-re-an-american-citizen-and-you-decide-to-join-up-with-isis-we/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [If now we were livingin the Revolutionary War and George Washington he being arrested through Britain. For sure he, they would consider him enemy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalid-sheikh-mohammed/if-now-we-were-livingin-the-revolutionary-war-and-george-washington/) [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalid-sheikh-mohammed/) > [“He scissored his legs, pulled hers out from under her, and brought her to the ground. Then, on some stupid impulse, he rolled on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-marton/he-scissored-his-legs-pulled-hers-out-from-under-her-and-brought-her/) [Dana Marton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-marton/) > [Who gets to decide who's an enemy combatant and who's an American citizen? Are we really so frightened and so easily frightened that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/who-gets-to-decide-who-s-an-enemy-combatant-and-who-s-an-american/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [If the choice is given to us of liberty or security, we must scorn the latter with the proper contempt of free man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-farley/if-the-choice-is-given-to-us-of-liberty-or-security-we-must-scorn-the/) [James Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-farley/) > [For most of our history, Americans enjoyed both liberty and security from foreign threats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/for-most-of-our-history-americans-enjoyed-both-liberty-and-security/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [Liberty and security are often in direct confrontation and must be balanced in a way that protects us without destroying what is worth protecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/liberty-and-security-are-often-in-direct-confrontation-and-must-be/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) > [“In Boumediene v. Bush, the Supreme Court held that the United States’ exercise of authority over Guantánamo gave the detainees a constitutional right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/in-boumediene-v-bush-the-supreme-court-held-that-the-united-states/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [To achieve progress and development it is necessary to bring about co-ordination between liberty and security through Devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pandurang-shastri-athavale/to-achieve-progress-and-development-it-is-necessary-to-bring-about-co/) [Pandurang Shastri Athavale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pandurang-shastri-athavale/) > [The fact that other countries spy on their own people or spy on each other does not address the fact that the US is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesselyn-radack/the-fact-that-other-countries-spy-on-their-own-people-or-spy-on-each/) [Jesselyn Radack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesselyn-radack/) > [We always want what we don't have, and I'd like a long, sophisticated nose rather than a short, turned-up one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darcey-bussell/we-always-want-what-we-don-t-have-and-i-d-like-a-long-sophisticated/) [Darcey Bussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darcey-bussell/) > [Some wee short hour ayont the twal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/some-wee-short-hour-ayont-the-twal/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [I don't like just traveling in for a short time. I've done that before, because sometimes you work for magazines and they have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sacco/i-don-t-like-just-traveling-in-for-a-short-time-i-ve-done-that-before/) [Joe Sacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sacco/) > [I said to my agent, 'I want short, sharp, well-paid jobs because I haven't got time for anything else.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-whitelaw/i-said-to-my-agent-i-want-short-sharp-well-paid-jobs-because-i-haven/) [Billie Whitelaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-whitelaw/) > [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) ## More by Benjamin Wittes > [Reasonable people can disagree about the authorities the NSA should have, when it's appropriate for the CIA to use drone strikes, and how assertive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/reasonable-people-can-disagree-about-the-authorities-the-nsa-should/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I'm a rationalist and a skeptic, someone who safely separates faith from reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-a-rationalist-and-a-skeptic-someone-who-safely-separates-faith/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I'm an unabashed apologist for strong national-security authority. That's why I might be more alarmed by Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-an-unabashed-apologist-for-strong-national-security-authority/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [If you believe, as I do, that the scope and range of presidential authority is great, that puts a lot of weight on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/if-you-believe-as-i-do-that-the-scope-and-range-of-presidential/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [In any long string of letters, one can find countless anomalies that will seem like convincing proofs of hidden meaning to the mind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/in-any-long-string-of-letters-one-can-find-countless-anomalies-that/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [To get a FISA warrant to spy on a suspected spy, the feds go before a super-secret court located in a sealed room in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/to-get-a-fisa-warrant-to-spy-on-a-suspected-spy-the-feds-go-before-a/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [One effect of Roe was to mobilize a permanent constituency for criminalizing abortion - a constituency that has driven much of the southern realignment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/one-effect-of-roe-was-to-mobilize-a-permanent-constituency-for/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [There is no doubt in my mind that Article II limits to a considerable degree the application of the obstruction statutes to the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-that-article-ii-limits-to-a-considerable/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [It might seem perverse for honestly religious people to group their faiths with those of the sadists and megalomaniacs who run most cults, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/it-might-seem-perverse-for-honestly-religious-people-to-group-their/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Eric Holder is a decent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/eric-holder-is-a-decent-man/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Al-Qaida is a cult of martyrdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/al-qaida-is-a-cult-of-martyrdom/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [I generally favor permissive abortion laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-generally-favor-permissive-abortion-laws/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [While I oppose the death penalty as a policy matter, in a legal culture in which we reserve the right to execute people for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/while-i-oppose-the-death-penalty-as-a-policy-matter-in-a-legal/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [We should stop thinking of Snowden, to the extent that we ever were, as a hero. We should stop thinking of him as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/we-should-stop-thinking-of-snowden-to-the-extent-that-we-ever-were-as/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [Trump fired Jim Comey because the most dangerous thing in the world, if you are Donald Trump, is a person who tells the truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/trump-fired-jim-comey-because-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) [Explore all 75 Benjamin Wittes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) [A.K. Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-hasan/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the 'enemy combatant' cases of Padilla and Hamdi present a clash between liberty and security, each side champions one while giving short shrift to the other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Wittes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla-and-hamdi-present-a-clash/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla-and-hamdi-present-a-clash/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/benjamin-wittes-9097_enemy_if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla_1611714.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/benjamin-wittes-9097_enemy_if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla_1611714.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f53/benjamin-wittes-9097_enemy_if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla_1611714.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the 'enemy combatant' cases of Padilla and Hamdi present a clash between liberty and security, each side…” — Benjamin Wittes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benjamin Wittes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the 'enemy combatant' cases of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla-and-hamdi-present-a-clash/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/if-the-enemy-combatant-cases-of-padilla-and-hamdi-present-a-clash/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```