Political Quotes

“this debate is a strength, not a weakness, in our country. In my opinion, the fundamental question for the Senate to answer when it comes to determining enemy combatant status is, Who should make that determination? Should that be a military decision or should it be a judicial decision? I am firmly in the camp that when it comes to determining who an enemy of the United States is, one who has taken up arms and who presents a threat to our Nation, that is not something judges are trained to do, nor should they be doing. That is something our military should do. For as long as I have been a military lawyer, Geneva Conventions article 4, where it talks about a competent tribunal to decide whether a person is a civilian--lawful, unlawful, combatant--that competent tribunal has been seen in terms of military people making those decisions. I have a tremendous respect for our courts. We will follow whatever they tell Congress to do because we are a rule-of-law nation, but this Congress has a role to play.”