Republicans appear to be circling around a new strategy to advocate stronger counterterrorism laws and expand domestic surveillance, while pushing back against civil libertarians.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is emerging as a point man in the drive for tougher laws, yesterday noting Britain’s ability to hold suspects without publicizing the charges. Appearing on ABC News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Mr. Chertoff said he would like to see a renewed look at U.S. laws that could give authorities here the flexibility to detain suspects for longer periods of time, noting that the British have such latitude.
“I think we should always review the law,” Chertoff told “Fox News Sunday.” “Certainly the ability to be as nimble as possible with surveillance, and their ability to hold people for a period of time gives them a legal advantage. We have to have a legal system to allow us to do that rather than punishing people after the fact.”
Britain’s newly revised terrorism laws permit the detention of suspects for 28 days without charge. In the U.S., suspects must be brought before a judge as soon as possible, which courts have interpreted to mean within 48 hours.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/08/14/push-for-new-antiterror-laws/Too bad they aren't as jealous of European health care. In fact, I seem to remember a real stink raised by conservatives whenever SCOTUS mentions that decisions about US law may be influenced by standards in Europe -in the case of death sentences for minors, for example.
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