President Obama signed the Defense authorization bill, even though he had reservations about how terrorism suspects would be treated. This affects future presidents, too, of course, including, you know, Republican ones. Even they get elected (or selected) from time to time. How will they use this law?
I’m curious: What would Democratic supporters of this bill say if it were GW Bush who signed it into law?
“I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists,” Obama said in a statement accompanying his signature.
As Jason Leopold notes, “President Obama said, ‘My admin will not authorize INDEFINITE MILITARY DETENTION’ of US citizens, which is what all of us were saying FOR WEEKS!”
Many Democrats and human-rights groups have decried the bill’s language that would allow indefinite detention for suspected terrorists without a trial–including Americans arrested in the United States. Supporters of the detainee provisions argue that the bill merely codifies existing law as it applies to Americans and legal resident aliens, as they retain the right to challenge their detention in court.
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