Political Quotes

“On September 18, 2001, Congress enacted the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which empowered the President to ``use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks,'' in order to prevent ``any future acts of international terrorism against the United States.'' Section 1021 of the fiscal year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act reaffirms the President's authority to detain so-called ``enemy combatants'' by ``affirming that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons pending disposition under the law of war.'' A number of Members from both sides of the aisle have expressed extreme discomfort and even outrage at the notion that a United States citizen apprehended on United States soil can potentially be held indefinitely under this act. To that end, I supported an amendment to the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that reaffirmed the availability of the writ of habeas corpus for any person detained in the United States pursuant to the 2001 AUMF or the fiscal year 2012 NDAA. While this provision was a step in the right direction, many would view the current habeas proceedings as unfair to the petitioner.…”