Political Quotes

“Now, we are good friends, and we are going to stay that way. But you keep saying something, Senator Durbin, that is not true. The law of the land is that an American citizen can be held as an enemy combatant. It is the Hamdi decision, and I quote: There is no bar to this Nation's holding one of its own citizens as an enemy combatant. Hamdi was an American citizen captured in Afghanistan fighting for the Taliban. Justice O'Connor specifically recognized that Hamdi's detention could last for the rest of his life because law of war detention can last for the duration of the relevant conflict. The Padilla case involves an American citizen captured in the United States, held for 5 years as an enemy combatant, and the Fourth Circuit reviewed his case and said that we could hold an American citizen as an enemy combatant. To my good friend from Illinois, throughout the history of this country American citizens in every conflict have, unfortunately, decided to side with the enemy at times. In re Quirin is a 1942-1943 case that involved American citizens assisting German saboteurs. They were held under the law of war because the act of collaborating with the enemy was considered an act of war, not a common crime. So the law of the land by the courts is that an American citizen can be held as an enemy combatant. That has been the law for decades. What Senator Feinstein would do is change that. The Congress would be saying we cannot hold an American citizen as an American combatant.…”