U.S.

Plenty of Praise for Eric Holder as new AG

Things are looking good for Eric Holder, Obama’s pick for attorney general, formally announced today.
In addition to the highly flattering portrait of Holder as a young man in today’s New York Times, he’s getting praise from some of the most serious critics of the Attorney Generals under George W. Bush.
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), for [...]

NYT’s Mahler Misses the Mark

In the NY Times Week in Review on Sunday, Jonathan Mahler opens his piece about “How to Define Terror” with the story of Salim Hamdan, former driver for Osama bin Laden, who was shipped back to Yemen last week after being acquitted of most of the charges brought against him by the US military commissions [...]

Supreme Ct. Considers Reviewing Indefinite Detention of U.S. Resident

Can the United States hold a lawful U.S. resident indefinitely without charges in a U.S. prison on American soil?
Normally, the answer is an unequivocal no. Federal law places strict time limits on how long the government can hold someone without charges (30 days), and how long the suspect may have to wait for a [...]

D.C. Circuit Hears Uighurs’ Case

It’s not clear whether District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina really had the legal authority to order the release in October of the 17 Chinese muslims, or Uighurs, who’ve been held at Guantanamo Bay for almost seven years — though they were cleared for release back in 2003.
Their case, argued today before the D.C. Circuit Court, [...]

NY Times Supports Federal Court Trials for Gitmo Detainees

The New York Times’ Sunday lead editorial is devoted to how the new Obama administration can and should close down Guantanamo Bay shortly after Barack Obama assumes the presidency on Jan. 20.
The Times draws on the detailed recommendations of Human Rights Watch, which offers a sensible step-by-step plan for how the notorious prison can [...]

State Dept and Pentagon officials At Odds over Gitmo Detainee Policy

Contacted in response to my story yesterday about the debate over national security courts, I spoke today to
the former Chief Counsel at the state department focused on detainee issues, who revealed an apparent schism between the State Dept on the one hand, and the Pentagon and executive on the other, when it comes to what [...]

McCain Wild About Napolitano at Homeland Security

Marc Ambinder reports Sen. John McCain spoke with Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to congratulate her on making it to the top of President-elect Barack Obama’s list to head the Department of Homeland Security. McCain then released this statement:

Why Gitmo’s Yemenis Can’t Go Home

An NPR report by Jackie Northam this morning on 101 Yemenis held at Guantanamo Bay highlighted a major part of the Gitmo dilemma facing the next administration that I wrote about for TWI today. While academics focus largely on the fate of the few dozen hi-level detainees who the Pentagon believes are truly dangerous and [...]

California Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of Prop 8

Rick Hasen reports on his election law blog that the California high court agreed Wednesday to consider whether Proposition 8 passes muster under the state constitution, which could put to rest at least part of the controversy that’s been brewing since Californians voted to amend their constitution to prohibit gay marriage.

Recasting the War on Terrorism

Liberal groups see a successful counterterrorism strategy doing more than ending torture, closing Guantanamo Bay, restricting CIA interrogation practices and curbing domestic spying. It must restore America’s moral stature in the world, and one way to do that is help resolve Arab-Israeli conflicts. The new administration seems receptive to the need for change.