Attorney General asks Congress to authorize indefinite detentions

Attorney General Michael Mukasey called on Congress on July 21 to authorize indefinite detention through a new declaration of armed conflict. Mukasey asked that Congress explicitly declare a state of armed conflict with al-Qaida as long as the "war on terrorism" lasts. Civil liberties groups responded with dismay, saying Mukasey was proposing that Congress should subvert the right of habeas corpus with a new scheme of procedures that will hide the Bush administration's past wrongdoing -- an action that would undermine the constitutional guarantee of due process and conceal systematic torture and abuse of detainees. Mukasey urged Congress to make the declaration in a package of legislative proposals to establish a legal process for terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo, in response to a Supreme Court ruling last month that detainees had a constitutional right to challenge their detention. "Any legislation should acknowledge again and explicitly that this nation remains engaged in an armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taliban and associated organizations, who have already proclaimed themselves at war with us," Mukasey said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. "Congress should reaffirm that for the duration of the conflict the United States may detain as enemy combatants those who have engaged in hostilities or purposefully supported al-Qaida, the Taliban and associated organizations," he said. Mukasey said new legislation should protect secrets in court hearings and prevent challenges from delaying detainee trials. Democrats in control of Congress and civil rights groups said Mukasey's proposals would avert legal oversight and stack the deck in favor of the administration. "Essentially it means that if a president declares someone to be a terrorist, they would then have the authority to hold that person without trial forever," said Chris Anders, senior legislative counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union. Bush has said the anti-terrorism effort would be open-ended. A week after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Congress authorized "all necessary and appropriate force" against nations and groups that planned or supported the attacks. It did not specifically mention al-Qaida or the Taliban. Some critics have said the Bush administration was too broad in asserting a nameless "war on terrorism." Mukasey's proposals would also limit the courts' role in determining a suspect's ties to terrorism, said Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "Mukasey is asking Congress to expand and extend the war on terror forever. Anyone that this president or the next one declares to be a terrorist could then be held indefinitely without a trial," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "With as little as five work weeks left in this Congress, there are more important issues than helping the lame-duck president cook up an indefensible plan to lock people up forever and throw away the key with no due process rights and limited judicial review."