Senator Says Lifetime Terror Detentions 'Bad Idea'

[seemslikeadream]

Sun Jan 2, 2005 10:39 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A reported U.S. plan to keep some suspected terrorists imprisoned for a lifetime even if the government lacks evidence to charge them in courts was swiftly condemned on Sunday as a "bad idea" by a leading Republican senator.
The Pentagon and the CIA have asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for those it was unwilling to set free or turn over to U.S. or foreign courts, the Washington Post said in a report that cited intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials.

Some detentions could potentially last a lifetime, the newspaper said.

Influential senators denounced the idea as probably unconstitutional.

"It's a bad idea. So we ought to get over it and we ought to have a very careful, constitutional look at this," Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on "Fox News Sunday."

Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, cited earlier U.S. Supreme Court decisions. "There must be some modicum, some semblance of due process ... if you're going to detain people, whether it's for life or whether it's for years," Levin said, also on Fox.

...

As part of a solution, the Defense Department, which holds 500 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, plans to ask the U.S. Congress for $25 million to build a 200-bed prison to hold detainees who are unlikely to ever go through a military tribunal for lack of evidence, defense officials told the Washington Post.
more
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7218051

[Lostnote03]

1. "probably unconstitutional".....wow, what an inquiring mental giant!!!

[Skittles]

2. gee...............ya THINK ?????????????????

:puke:

[VegasWolf]

3. Only bushco could think up an idea like that. n/t

[The Blue Flower]

4. Not true

see: Stalin, Mao, Ceauscescu, Castro, Franco, Caligula. This crew, if nothing else, is NOT original.

[shadowknows69]

5. but damn good at improving on their predecessors. n/t

[No Exit]

6. Lifetime? Nah--we shd just let him go back to Crawford

and drink himself into a stupor. Or he can work on his Presidential Library and Lounge.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. Bushism...

"We don't need evidence to prove they are guilty. We say they are. I said 'There is WMD's in Iraq' and there is, now we can send you to prison too, for questioning me. No really, I can, it's in the patriot act. Guard!"

[BeHereNow]

8. Prison Profits- bottom line

I read the original article about this
in the WaPo. The line that caught my
attention referred to the fact that the
prisons would be BUILT by US corporations
in foreign countries.
I think they intend to expand the US business
plan currently in place here in the prison system.
Millions of people held for non-violent crimes
is a huge money maker.
Globalization of the US prison system for profit.
Now the question is, who gets the contract to build
those prisons?
Any guesses?
BHN

[seemslikeadream]

9. My new spokesman will answer all your questions

[LynnTheDem]

10. "probably"???

"PROBABLY"?????!!

:wow:

[tuvor]

11. Dupe.

At least it is according to one of the mods when I posted the same story from Yahoo:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1114941

[htuttle]

12. Will we be supplying these prisoners with iron masks...

...or do they have to bring their own?

[peterh]

13. In a related article in the Wash. Post today…..

Jane Harman (and I’m beginning to think, a DINO) doesn’t appear to be concerned about the legality of what is being proposed, but rather whether or not it should remain secret….WTF….

I always thought she represented one of the more liberal districts in California (Santa Monica), but if I were in her district I would not be a happy camper and would be firing off e-mails to that effect….


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41475-2005Jan1.html

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), vice chairman of the House intelligence committee who has received classified briefings on the CIA's detainees and interrogation methods, said that given the long-term nature of the detention situation, "I think there should be a public debate about whether the entire system should be secret.
"The details about the system may need to remain secret," Harman said.

[lynne]

14. More like "probably constitutional"

as the US constitution applies to US Citizens only.

Terrorists who are US Citizens are protected by the constitution. All others are out of luck as far as the constitution is concerned.

[Moderator]

15. locking

More or less a duplicate discuss here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1114941