Mike Levin: “On September 14, the Senate Armed Services Committee favorably reported S. 3901, the Military Commissions Act of 2006…”

“On September 14, the Senate Armed Services Committee favorably reported S. 3901, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, to the Senate floor with a bipartisan vote of 15 to 9. Supporters of the committee bill on both sides of the aisle emphasized that the bill met two critical tests: First, that we would be able to live with the procedures we established if the tables are turned and our own troops were subject to similar procedures. Second, that the bill was consistent with our American system of justice and would stand up to scrutiny on judicial review. On the first point, the committee bill did not authorize departure from the requirements of the Geneva Conventions, did not authorize the abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody, did not authorize the use of testimony obtained through abusive practices, because the standards for detention, interrogation, and trial in the bill were consistent with international norms. The bill contained no procedures that we could not live with if they were applied to our own troops who might be captured at some future time. On the second point, the committee bill established legal procedures consistent with basic principles of the American system of justice, such as the right to examine and respond to all evidence presented, and the exclusion of unreliable categories of evidence, such as coerced statements.”