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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (513391)	12/20/2003 1:17:14 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Bush stands firm on 'enemy combatants' WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Bush administration said Friday it stood firm in its decisions to keep terrorist suspects deemed enemy combatants under military control and not turn them over to civilian authorities. A decision Thursday by the liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California that a man detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba should be turned over to U.S. civilian jurisdiction was wrong, it said. "The 9th Circuit (Court of Appeals) ruled that for enemy combatants who are held abroad can access U.S. courts. Our position, based on long-standing Supreme Court precedent, is that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction over non-U.S. citizens being held in military custody abroad," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "We have always said they are being treated well. But let's keep in mind that we're talking about enemy combatants that were involved in planning and plotting to harm American citizens. We are at war with terrorism, and the president's most solemn obligation is to protect the American people." Handing the Libyan man, identified as Falem Gherebi, over to U.S. civilian courts would allow him all legal rights under the Constitution. It could also open the door for action by the more than 600 other suspected terrorists and enemy combatants on the naval base who were arrested in the Middle East by U.S. forces. The U.S.-based brother of Gherebi brought the case for release. On Thursday the White House had rejected a decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals that said accused terrorist plotter Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen, should be released to civilian authorities within 30 days. Padilla, a former gang member, was arrested by federal authorities at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in May. He is accused of being part of an al-Qaida plot to set off a radiological bomb in the United States, and is currently being held at a military facility in South Carolina. During his 19-month detention he has not been allowed access to an attorney. "The president's inherent constitutional powers do not extend to the detention as an enemy combatant of American citizens without express congressional authorization," the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges said in their 2-1 decision. McClellan on Thursday had called that decision "troubling and flawed." He said the president had ordered the Justice Department to apply for a stay and review of the order and was prepared to argue the case before the Supreme Court if necessary. The Supreme Court had earlier ruled the government could hold an enemy combatant named Yaser Esam Hamdi in the same military facility as Padilla. Hamdi is also a U.S. citizen, but was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Hamdi, however, was being allowed access to a lawyer following a decision by the Department of Defense. The administration has said enemy combatants could face trial before military tribunals. McClellan Friday reiterated the White House position on the detainees and its intention to pursue the matter into the country's highest court if necessary.