Kennedy on Military Tribunal Bill

Kennedy on Military Tribunal Bill

"The Military Commissions Act is seriously flawed. The Administration negotiated the final bill in secret with Republican leaders and rushed it through Congress in a blatant attempt to gain a partisan advantage before the Senate and House adjourned for the election. It gives the President excessive power to label and detain enemy combatants. Its evisceration of the writ of habeas corpus for all non-citizens is almost surely unconstitutional, and so is its attempt to legalize the use of evidence obtained by torture.

The Administration initially tried to establish military commissions without congressional approval, but it failed to bring any detainee to justice in the five years since 9/11 and the commissions were struck down by the Supreme Court last term. The Administration's new scheme is likely to suffer the same fate, and Congress will have to pass further legislation to try to get it right.

The White House and the Republican Congress should stop playing politics with national security and take their responsibility to protect the American people seriously by obeying the Constitution and the rule of law."

http://www.tedkennedy.com/journal/1265/kennedy-on-military-tribunal-bill