“U.S. citizens suspected of terror ties might be detained indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts reviewing an early version of the bill.”  (By Anne Plummer Flaherty Associated Press, July 28,2006, WASHINGTON DC) 

According to Legal experts, the language of the bill paints Americans with a broad brush.  It could authorize the military to detain indefinitely U.S. citizens who are suspected of nothing more than alleged ties to terror networks like al Qaeda.  And of course the definition of those ties is murky.

The Bush administration's Bill would invalidate several legal safeguards for Americans charged by the Justice Department in civilian and military courts, including:

v      barring hearsay evidence,

v      guaranteeing "speedy trials",

v      granting a defendant access to evidence.

The Bush proposal would even allow defendants to be barred from their own trial and likely allow the submission of coerced testimony.  Torture anyone?

The Bush doctrine is alive and well.

A copy of the report can be found at: http://balkin.blogspot.com/