Kelly Ayotte: “I would like to thank the chairman of the Armed Services Committee for such a thorough analysis of the detainee…”

“I would like to thank the chairman of the Armed Services Committee for such a thorough analysis of the detainee provisions represented in section 1031 through 1034 of the Defense authorization bill. This is a very important part of the Defense authorization bill, and I certainly appreciate the thoughtful analysis that the chairman did. I would say that his thoughtful and detailed analysis addressed all the red herrings that have been raised about these particular provisions. Because if you read carefully the language in the provisions that were addressed by the Armed Services Committee, they do provide the flexibility that the administration says they have sought in making the best decisions on how to treat detainees, particularly those who become members of al-Qaida and come to our country to commit an attack against our country. We have to make sure we have the right provisions in place to protect Americans and the flexibility so the executive branch officials are able to decide what is the best track to handle a particular case or member of al-Qaida who comes to our country to, unfortunately, attack us. I also wish to remind this body that these provisions of the Defense Authorization Act were passed out of the Senate Armed Services Committee on an overwhelming bipartisan basis.…”