New Fascist Detention Bill,Bush Submits New Terror Detainee Bill

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[Air_America_Radio] New Fascist Detention Bill,Bush Submits

New Terror Detainee Bill

 

 

 

 

Monday, 31 July 2006

New Fascist Detention Bill

 

 

 

'U.S. citizens suspected of terror ties might be detained

indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under

legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts

reviewing an early version of the bill.'

 

Read more ...

 

 

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New maximum-security jail to open at Guantanamo Bay

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expanding.

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Bush Submits New Terror Detainee Bill

 

By Anne Plummer Flaherty

The Associated Press

Friday 28 July 2006

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072906X.shtml

 

 

 

 

Washington -U.S. citizens suspected of terror ties might be

detained indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under

legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts

reviewing an early version of the bill.

 

 

A 32-page draft measure is intended to authorize the Pentagon's

tribunal system, established shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks

to detain and prosecute detainees captured in the war on terror. The

tribunal system was thrown out last month by the Supreme Court.

Administration officials, who declined to comment on the draft,

said the proposal was still under discussion and no final decisions

had been made.

 

 

Senior officials are expected to discuss a final proposal before

the Senate Armed Services Committee next Wednesday.

 

 

According to the draft, the military would be allowed to detain

all " enemy combatants " until hostilities cease. The bill defines enemy

combatants as anyone " engaged in hostilities against the United States

or its coalition partners who has committed an act that violates the

law of war and this statute. "

 

 

 

Legal experts said Friday that such language is dangerously broad

and could authorize the military to detain indefinitely U.S. citizens

who had only tenuous ties to terror networks like al Qaeda.

 

 

" That's the big question ... the definition of who can be

detained, " said Martin Lederman, a law professor at Georgetown

University who posted a copy of the bill to a Web blog.

 

 

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Scott L. Silliman, a retired Air Force Judge Advocate, said the

broad definition of enemy combatants is alarming because a U.S.

citizen loosely suspected of terror ties would lose access to a

civilian court - and all the rights that come with it. Administration

officials have said they want to establish a secret court to try enemy

combatants that factor in realities of the battlefield and would

protect classified information.

The administration's proposal, as considered at one point during

discussions, would toss out several legal rights common in civilian

and military courts, including barring hearsay evidence, guaranteeing

" speedy trials " and granting a defendant access to evidence. The

proposal also would allow defendants to be barred from their own trial

and likely allow the submission of coerced testimony.

 

 

 

Senior Republican lawmakers have said they were briefed on the

general discussions and have some concerns but are awaiting a final

proposal before commenting on specifics.

 

 

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Deputy Defense Secretary

Gordon England are expected to discuss the proposal in an open hearing

next Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Military

lawyers also are scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate

Judiciary Committee.

 

 

 

The legislation is the administration's response to a June 29

Supreme Court decision, which concluded the Pentagon could not

prosecute military detainees using secret tribunals established soon

after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The court ruled the

tribunals were not authorized by law and violated treaty obligations

under the Geneva Conventions, which established many international

laws for warfare.

 

 

The landmark court decision countered long-held assertions by the

Bush administration that the president did not need permission from

Congress to prosecute " enemy combatants " captured in the war on terror

and that al Qaeda members were not subject to Geneva Convention

protections because of their unconventional status.

 

 

" In a time of ongoing armed conflict, it is neither practicable

nor appropriate for enemy combatants like al Qaeda terrorists to be

tried like American citizens in federal courts or courts-martial, " the

proposal states.

 

 

 

The draft proposal contends that an existing law - passed by the

Senate last year after exhaustive negotiations between the White House

and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. - that bans cruel, inhuman or degrading

treatment should " fully satisfy " the nation's obligations under the

Geneva Conventions.

 

 

Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services

Committee, said Friday he expects to take up the detainee legislation

in September.