http://www.theatlantic.

com/politics/archive/2010/03/a-detention-bill-you-ought-to-read-more-carefully/37116/

A Detention Bill You Ought to Read More Carefully

Emily Esfahani Smith

theatlantic.com

Why is the national security community treating the "Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and
Prosecution Act of 2010," introduced by Sens. John McCain and Joseph Lieberman on Thursday as a
standard proposal, as a simple response to the administration's choices in the aftermath of the Christmas
Day bombing attempt? A close reading of the bill suggests it would allow the U.S. military to detain U.S.
citizens without trial indefinitely in the U.S. based on suspected activity. Read the bill here, and then read
the summarized points after the jump.

According to the summary,

the bill sets out a comprehensive policy for the detention, interrogation and trial of suspected enemy
belligerents who are believed to have engaged in hostilities against the United States by requiring these
individuals to be held in military custody, interrogated for their intelligence value and not provided with a
Miranda warning.
(There is no distinction between U.S. persons--visa holders or citizens--and non-U.S. persons.)

It would require these "belligerents" to be coded as "high-value detainee[s]" to be held in military custody
and interrogated for their intelligence value by a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Team established by
the president. (The H.I.G., of course, was established to bring a sophisticated interrogation capacity to
the federal justice system.)
Any suspected unprivileged enemy belligerents considered a "high-value detainee" shall not be
provided with a Miranda warning.
The bill asks the President to determine criteria for designating an individual as a "high-value
detainee" if he/she: (1) poses a threat of an attack on civilians or civilian facilities within the U.S.
or U.S. facilities abroad; (2) poses a threat to U.S. military personnel or U.S. military facilities;
(3) potential intelligence value; (4) is a member of al Qaeda or a terrorist group affiliated with al
Qaeda or (5) such other matters as the President considers appropriate. The President must
submit the regulations and guidance to the appropriate committees of Congress no later than
60 days after enactment.
To the extent possible, the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Team must make a preliminary
determination whether the detainee is an unprivileged enemy belligerent within 48 hours of
taking detainee into custody.

The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Team must submit its determination to the Secretary of
Defense and the Attorney General after consultation with the Director of National Intelligence,
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency. The Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General make a final determination and
report the determination to the President and the appropriate committees of Congress. In the
case of any disagreement between the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General, the
Page 1 of 2President

will make the determination.

Apr 23, 2015 01:36:43PM MDT

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/03/a-detention-bill-you-ought-to-read-more-carefully/37116/

President will make the determination.

Note that the president himself doesn't get to make the call.

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Apr 23, 2015 01:36:43PM MDT