30/06/2006
By LIZ SIDOTI
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Thursday he would push legislation allowing President Bush to use military tribunals to prosecute terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay. "To keep America safe in the war on terror, I believe we should try terrorists only before military commissions, not in our civilian courts," said Frist, R-Tenn. "Congress should work with the president to update our laws on terrorist combatants to respond to the new threats of a post-9/11 world," he said. Responding quickly to the Supreme Court's ruling against the White House, Frist said he would consult with the administration and his colleagues and introduce legislation when Congress returns from a weeklong break. The high court said the president overstepped his authority, ruling that the military tribunals were illegal under U.S. and international law. Lawmakers from both parties said the ruling appeared to give Congress the chance to establish a legal framework for prosecuting the suspected terrorists at the prison on a U.S. naval base in Cuba. "They've opened the door to a legislative remedy, and as Congress plays a key role in this debate, we'll work with the administration to reach a solution," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. The president suggested he would seek the authority from Congress so the military could use the tribunals. Bush pledged to work with Congress "to have a military tribunal to hold people to account" that would meet the court's objections. Both the House and Senate Armed Services committees announced they would hold hearings this summer. "I'm sure we will look at other means to provide them justice under our laws and international law," the Senate committee chairman, Sen. John Warner, said of the detainees. "There also could be an acceleration of efforts to return them to their native countries to the extent those countries will accept them," said Warner, R-Va. Sen. Arlen Specter also scheduled a hearing in his Senate Judiciary Committee. But Specter, R-Va., went a step further by introducing legislation to address the issues the Supreme Court raised. He said he wanted to balance national security and detainees' rights. The GOP-controlled Congress has largely taken a hands-off approach to Guantanamo, giving the administration leeway in how it detains and prosecutes suspected terrorists. But some Republicans and many Democrats long have complained that Congress should have been involved in developing the policy for prosecuting Guantanamo detainees. Democrats said the Supreme Court's ruling was a triumph for the Constitution's system of checks and balances. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said it was "a rebuke of the Bush administration's detainee policies and a reminder of our responsibility to protect both the American people and our Constitutional rights." Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, commended the justices for "acting as a much needed check on this administration's unilateral policies that have clearly stretched the bounds of the president's constitutional authority." Despite the ruling, House Majority Leader John Boehner defended Bush's use of his inherent powers as commander in chief. "I know what motivates the president," said Boehner, R-Ohio. "And that is to protect the American people from attacks here at home and abroad."
SOURCE: Forbes.com |
