Political Quotes

“I very much oppose this amendment. We have a court system in this country which is second to none. To deny this administration or any administration the opportunity, should they choose to exercise their discretion, to charge terrorists as criminals seems to me to be highly unwise and is not a particularly strong step in the war against terrorism. This amendment is undesirable. It would create a permanent restriction on the administration's options--not, by the way, just this administration's options, any administration's options in conducting the fight against terrorism. It prevents the administration's ability to bring any detainee from Guantanamo for any purpose, including their prosecution in court. I think it is unwise and not a strong step at all in the war on terror to deprive the President of the tools he might need to carry out the protection of this country from the threat of terrorism. This amendment would permanently cut off the possibility of prosecuting these Guantanamo detainees in Federal court. I hope we do not do that. I hope we defeat the amendment of my friend from New Hampshire, Senator Ayotte. Finally, this is what we call veto bait. The administration continues to strongly oppose these provisions which intrude upon the executive branch's ability to carry out its military, national security, and foreign relations activities and to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo detainees.…”