Political Quotes

“It makes no sense, I say to the Senator. He would be entitled to a habeas hearing if he were caught in the United States, but he would be held under the law of war because the allegation is not that he was committing a crime but that he was collaborating with the enemy. So, yes, we could have a scenario, according to the view of the Senator from Kentucky, that we could kill somebody--an American citizen overseas helping the enemy kill our troops--but if they joined with al- Qaida here at home, all of a sudden we have to give them a lawyer and read them their rights and we can't hold them under the law of war detention to find out what they know about an impending attack. That makes absolutely no sense. The Supreme Court has rejected that kind of thinking. I hope that day never comes, but I can tell my colleagues this: I don't know when the war is over, he is right about that, but I know this: As long as I am in the Senate, we are going to fight it and we are going to fight it as a war, not a crime. Mr. McCAIN. If the Senator will yield further, there is every indication in the Middle East and around the world that we see that al- Qaida is on the way back, far from being defeated. I just wish to make an additional comment to my friend, Senator Levin, the chairman, whom I have had the honor of bringing these bills to the floor with and working together with for 25 years.…”