Trent Lott: “If I could speak on this very important issue addressed previously by the Senator from Illinois, the Military…”

“If I could speak on this very important issue addressed previously by the Senator from Illinois, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, I have been restrained in making comments on this process, although I admit I have had to bite my lip a few times because I believed the process that was underway was responsible. Let me go back and talk a little bit about the beginnings of why this act is necessary and where we are now. We have been in some very difficult times and some uncharted waters when it comes to the war on terror since September 11. It has challenged us in many ways to deal with problems we have not had to deal with before, with an amorphous enemy which does not line up in uniform, in rank, but takes the vehicle of suicide bombers or roadside bombs--the worst of all possible attacks on innocent men and women and children--with no uniform, with no concern for what it does to these innocent people, not to mention those who are trying to bring about greater peace and democracy and opportunity and security in the world, in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Middle East and, yes, here at home. We are working through this as we go forward. These are unique times. In this process, we have been able to capture and deter some of the worst of the worst jihadists in the world, intent on killing our soldiers and innocent men and women. We have had to deal with them. These are not people who ordinarily have been captured who would be covered by the Geneva Conventions.…”