Government Asserts Power to Keep Detainees

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- Under detailed questioning by a federal judge, government lawyers asserted Wednesday the U.S. military can hold foreigners indefinitely as enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, even if they aided terrorists unintentionally and never fought the United States.

Could a "little old lady in Switzerland" who sent a check to an orphanage in Afghanistan be taken into custody if unbeknownst to her some of her donation was passed to al-Qaida terrorists? asked U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green.

"She could," replied Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle. "Someone's intention is clearly not a factor that would disable detention." It would be up to a newly established military review panel to decide whether to believe her and release her.

Boyle said the military can pick any foreigner who provides support to terrorists or might know of their plans. And the foreigners held on the U.S. naval base in Cuba "have no constitutional rights enforceable in this court," Boyle told the judge.

"That's really shocking," Thomas B. Wilner, attorney for 12 Kuwaiti detainees, told reporters after Green's hearing. "People throughout the world will fear the United States is asserting the power to pick up little old ladies and men who made a mistake."

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-guantanamo-detainees,0,1637769.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[The Sushi Bandit]

1. Frickin shocking!

[shraby]

2. Didn't the Supremes just tell the government

they couldn't hold people indefinitely without a trial?

[Rose Siding]

5. They've blown that off

The criteria in this article looks new and bolder than what the courts saw before. Straight our of the Patriot Act?

[NYC Liberal]

3. How many white people are in Guantanamo?

[Ima]

4. CHILLING!!!!!!!!

[bhikkhu]

6. If you still have a problem with the Nazi analogy,

read the whole article and see if your problem is gone. Face to face with evil in our own time.

[Ima]

8. OK, I did.

Almost wished I hadn't. It's to hard for me to accept all this.

[VegasWolf]

7. Jesus, and I thought McCarthy was bad! This is over the top. n/t

[bhikkhu]

9. Kick

Being two days old, this may be less than current news by strict standards. But to me, its the whole ball game, the reason for being here.