Political Quotes

“Probably the most discussed provision in the conference report is the provision relative to military detention for foreign al- Qaida terrorists. This provision was written to be doubly sure there is no interference with civilian interrogations and other law enforcement activities and to ensure that the President has the flexibility he needs to use the most appropriate tools in each case. The bill as passed in the Senate addressed this issue by including language that: No. 1, left it to the President to adopt procedures to determine who is a foreign al-Qaida terrorist and therefore subject to presumed military detention; No. 2, required that those procedures not interfere with ongoing intelligence, surveillance, or interrogations by civilian law enforcement; No. 3, left it to the executive branch to determine whether a military detainee who will be tried is tried by a civilian court or a military court; and No. 4, gave the executive branch broad waiver authority. The conference report retains that language and adds additional assurances that there will be no interference with civilian interrogations or other law enforcement activities.…”