Originally posted on sciy.org by Ron Anastasia on Tue 17 Oct 2006 11:01 AM PDT
Bush Signs Law Creating Tribunals for Terror Suspects
By Roger Runningen
Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush signed legislation to allow the trial of suspected terrorists by military tribunals, and his administration immediately used the law to challenge suits by hundreds of Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Bush said he was signing the Military Commissions Act ``in memory of the victims'' of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
``The bill I sign today helps secure this country,'' Bush said today at a White House ceremony. ``We will answer brutal murder with patient justice. Those who kill the innocent will be held to account.''
Among those who will be brought to trial under the law is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind. He and 13 other terrorism suspects, who were labeled ``high value'' and had been held in secret overseas prisons operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, were transferred last month to the U.S. facility at the U.S. Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In addition to setting up military commissions to try suspected terrorists, the law gives the president wide latitude to interpret the Geneva Conventions in deciding what interrogation techniques would be permissible.
Senator John McCain, a key architect of the bill, said the intent is to outlaw practices such as simulated drowning -- known as water boarding -- sleep deprivation and putting detainees in stress positions. The Arizona Republican's opposition to the president's original proposal for the tribunals forced the administration to compromise on its provisions.
Appeals Court
Shortly after the president signed the measure, the Justice Department sent a letter to a U.S. appeals court in Washington saying the new law strips the Guantanamo detainees of their right to a court hearing to challenge their confinement. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is considering a previous government request to dismiss the suits.
The law continued to draw criticism from some Democrats and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International.
ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero in a statement called the law ``unconstitutional and un-American'' and said it would make Guantanamo and other detention facilities a ``legal no-man's land.'' Amnesty International said it would let the U.S. hold suspects indefinitely without charge or trial.
Government lawyers say that instead of suing in federal court, the detainees must go through a military review to determine whether they are being properly held as ``enemy combatants.'' Lawyers for more than 200 Guantanamo detainees say those reviews would provide fewer rights than a federal court suit, and that it would violate the Constitution to take away their right to challenge their detention in court.
Habeas Corpus
The new law prohibits such habeas corpus petitions by non- U.S. citizens. Opponents argue that is an unconstitutional suspension of a legal principle, dating back to 13th-century England, which allows prisoners to contest their detention.
Democratic Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts said it would endanger and U.S. personnel overseas who are captured by the nation's enemies.
Republicans highlighted the opposition of Democrats. House Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said in a statement that ``Democrats' partisan opposition to this program, at the urging of the radical leftist element of their Party, provides further proof that they continue to put politics ahead of addressing the security concerns of the American people.''
Protesters
While Bush was signing the law, a group of protesters demonstrated outside the White House fence chanting ``stop torture'' and ``shame on Congress, shame on Bush.'' At least 16 people were arrested when they blocked an entrance to the White House grounds, said Scott Fear, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police.
Bush sought the legislation after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress had not authorized tribunals for bringing terrorism suspects to trial. The Senate gave final approval to the bill 65-34 on Sept. 28 and the House endorsed it the following day, 250-170.
``Over the past few months the debate over this bill has been heated, and the questions raised can seem complex,'' Bush said today. ``Every member of Congress who voted for this bill has helped our nation rise to the task that history has given us.''
Administration spokesman Tony Snow said yesterday that White House lawyers were working on definitions ``that outline what constitutes torture.'' Trials may proceed in `` a month or two,'' he said.
About 150 people were inviting to the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House, including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace, CIA Director General Michael Hayden and current and retired military officers, lawmakers, advocacy groups, congressional and agency staff.
To contact the reporter on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 17, 2006 13:00 EDTAttachment:
