Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. I do not oppose military commissions. I think military commissions are an important tool, particularly when you are talking about people who are captured overseas, potentially in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia. I agree with the gentleman in that there are instances when the evidence necessary requires a military commission. Yet the problem with this amendment is it says it has to be a military commission, that Article III courts are never an option. We have an extensive history of capturing terrorists overseas, of bringing them back to the United States, of trying them in Article III courts, and of convicting them and putting them in prison. We've done that a number of different times, and it is an option that should be on the table. I cannot support taking that option completely away under any circumstances, because there are a couple of problems with military commissions. They are necessary for many of the reasons that Mr. Rooney stated. However, they are also relatively new. We had some military commissions during World War II--I believe just one for a particular group of German spies who were here in the U.S. We've done a couple since then, but they are untested, and there will undoubtedly be appeals. The beauty of the Article III courts is you have 230 years of history. My math may be off a little bit there, but you have over 200 years of history. Let's put it that way.…”