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Subscribe to RSSThe Obama administration, responding to restrictions imposed by Congress, issued guidelines late Tuesday on when the FBI can take custody of newly arrested terrorism detainees.
It's clear the federal government intends to squeeze as much flexibility as it can from the restrictions included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 aimed at giving the military control of those detainees.
What to do with captured terrorists has divided Congress. The issue came to a flash point after the arrest of Umar Abdulmutallab, the so-called “Underwear Bomber,” who attempted to detonate explosives on a Detroit-bound flight from Amsterdam.
Some Republicans called to have Abdulmutallab tried before a military commission and declared an enemy combatant. Some Democrats pushed for him to be tried in civilian court, where he eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
The new law requires that the United States military take custody of non-U.S. citizens closely linked to al-Qaida who have helped plan or carry out an attack against the U.S. or one of its coalition partners. But under the regulations issued late Tuesday, that won't happen instantly.
"A rigid, inflexible requirement to place suspected terrorists into military custody would undermine the national security interests of the United States," says the policy directive issued by the White House.
Under the new procedures, a federal agent who suspects that a terrorist might fall under the rules must notify the U.S. attorney general. The suspect could be transferred to military custody only with the approval of the attorney general, chairman of the joint chiefs, director of national intelligence, and the secretaries of the State, Defense, and Homeland Security departments.
Even then, the suspect might be transferred back to civilian custody to be put on trial, the rules say.
The law also gives the president authority to waive the military custody requirement for individuals or entire categories of cases. President Obama has issued waivers in advance for certain situations, including times when "placing a foreign country's nationals or residents in military custody will impede counterterrorism cooperation," or when a foreign government refuses to extradite a suspect to the U.S. if that would mean placing the suspect in military custody.
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Not the best decision...
Wake up "sheeple" the government is about to make ANYONE they dont like, a domestic "terrorist"
Eventually people will catch on that "Terrorism" is just a buzz word enabling a police state and taking away our basic rights and freedoms. All they'll have to do then is say it's in the interest of reality television and America will just drift right back to sleep....
Unfortunately if history is any indicator of the future, they will not find out until they are being loaded on the trains.
Hey Dummies,how about dealing with these people yourselves and leaving the Military OUT OF IT!
Whoever the Idiot or Idiots were who came up with this STUPID IDEA PLAN OR WHATEVER,belong in Prison themselves!
JUST STUPID!
Can anyone say Zeig Heil!
"Whoever the Idiot or Idiots were who came up with this STUPID IDEA PLAN OR WHATEVER,belong in Prison themselves!"
Mr. Obama is the one responsible for the implementation of this plan. So it he agreed to it and had it implemented, then he too should be dealt with as mentioned in your statement above.
Maybe Mr. Holder, Mr. Geithner, and Mr. Bernanke can join him in Federal prison also.
ldo,
Must you ALWAYS get it backwards? The Repukians implemented the plan to have them all turned over to the military. Obama is just trying to restore some sanity, as he has done all along.
Everyone who voted for or signed the 2012 Defense authorization act should be ashamed.
No dirp101 they all belong in Prison for Treason!
Purely a liberal "Police Action" law. All terrorism is a "Police" issue and nothing more.
What a hamstringing. Whaaaaaaa, Whaaaaaa, Whaaaaaaa, Whaaaaaaa
PURE EFFING POLITICALLY CORRECT "Can't we all just get along BS policy by a puzzy azz POTUS.....
Obviously we have learned nothing since 2001
So why should he be tried in a military court of law? He is a terrorist not a member of any army of any country. Give him a fair trial, take him out back and hang the sonofabitch.
Stone...right on! Hang these low life terrorist muslim scum, waste neither time nor money on them!
That's right, just accuse them terrorist scum and shoot them. Don't need no proof anymore!!! The government (you know, the people you don't trust with your health care, even though they've been doing your grandma's for 50 years) says they are terrorists, so they must be. Shoot 'em all !!!!
Russians aint no dummys, they dont want to feed these terrorist. Let US have them. They'll take anyone.
Awesome.
The FBI can start with detaining the terrorist at the White House, then.
Be careful what you decree, King Obama.
Your issued orders might backfire like a smelly old fart that you held in all day from being terrorized by the local constabulary for no cause.
I say that this is not constitutional.
The FBI is not named within our founding documents. That agency is not lawful.
Custody of terrorist suspects belongs under the auspices of the Pentagon (Department of Defense) only, until such time that a trial by a jury of peers is scheduled timely.
Mr. Obama I disagree with your assertion. You are incorrect, Sir.
I am a law professional.
The Executive branch is, and the Department of Justice - including the FBI - falls under the control of the Executive branch.
I'm of two minds about this - the problem really crops up when those suspects are US Citizens - who, despite what you might think or feel, are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. No citizen of the United States should be detained in military custody - that is un-Constitutional.
Obviously not.
If the inept clown obama doesn't want to follow the NDAA why did the fool sign it?. obama = a joke.
after 8 years of numb nuts BUSH these GOPers haven't a leg to stand on never elected but fre loaded for 8 yrs.
Where are you going to keep CONGRESS?
You can blame a commie on the left or a fascist book burner from the right for the sorry state of our civil rights that are under attack . yet I believe it has more to do with the non elected staff and cabinet people who hang around no matter which party is in control, people who really can work a long time agenda with out a lot of notice , kinda like Cheney's daughter .
This kind of thing is distracting us from the real important stuff allowing rear packers to be able to call each other "husband" or "married"