Bush proposes new “Terror bill”
In the continuing fight against terrorism, President Bush is proposing a new Terrorist Detainee bill which would allow the government to hold suspects indefinitely.
U.S. citizens suspected of terror ties might be detained indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts reviewing an early version of the bill. [...]
According to the draft, the military would be allowed to detain all “enemy combatants” until hostilities cease. The bill defines enemy combatants as anyone “engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners who has committed an act that violates the law of war and this statute.”
Legal experts said Friday that such language is dangerously broad and could authorize the military to detain indefinitely U.S. citizens who had only tenuous ties to terror networks like al Qaeda.
I fear that detainee’s will soon call Guantanamo Bay a permanent home away from home. Legal experts worry that innocent civilians suspected of terrorist ties may quickly loose access to civilian courts – due to the “broad scope” defining enemy combatants – escalating their situation into military control.
