Sunday, November 18, 2001
Bush Insisted Only He Should Decide Who Should Stand Trial Before Military Court
NEWSWEEK
In the November 26 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, November 19): Newsweek covers the hunt for Osama bin Laden. In the week of military victories and quashing of the Taliban, Newsweek examines the progress in Afghanistan and what's ahead for bin Laden - where he may go or hide. Coverage includes a photo essay from the front lines. Also: an update on AA Flight 587; the future of the airline industry; how Americans will be celebrating Thanksgiving with a look at changes in lifestyles.[AC]
NEW YORK, NY USA 11/18/2001
Secret Legal Document Gave Bush Wartime Powers,
Including Holding Secret Tribunals
NEW YORK, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- After he signed an order allowing the
use of military tribunals in terrorist cases, President George W. Bush
insisted he alone should decide who goes before such a military court, his
aides tell Newsweek. The tribunal document gives the government the power to
try, sentence -- and even execute -- suspected foreign terrorists in secrecy,
under special rules that would deny them constitutional rights and allow no
chance to appeal.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011118/HSSA005 )
Bush's powers to form a military court came from a secret legal
memorandum, which the U.S. Justice Department began drafting in the days after
Sept. 11, Newsweek has learned. The memo allows Bush to invoke his broad
wartime powers, since the U.S., they concluded, was in a state of "armed
conflict." Bush used the memo as the legal basis for his order to bomb
Afghanistan. Weeks later, the lawyers concluded that Bush would use his
expanded powers to form a military court for captured terrorists. Officials
envision holding the trials on aircraft carriers or desert islands, report
Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff and Contributing Editor Stuart
Taylor Jr. in the November 26 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday,
November 19).
The idea for a secret military tribunal was first presented by William
Barr, a Justice Department lawyer -- and later attorney general -- under the
first President Bush, as a way to handle the terrorists responsible for the
1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The idea didn't take back
then. But Barr floated it to top White House officials in the days after
Sept. 11 and this time he found allies, Newsweek reports. Barr's inspiration
came when he walked by a plaque outside his office commemorating the trial of
Nazi saboteurs captured during World War II. The men were tried and most were
executed in secret by a special military tribunal.
In the November 26 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, November 19): Newsweek covers the hunt for Osama bin Laden. In the week of military victories and quashing of the Taliban, Newsweek examines the progress in Afghanistan and what's ahead for bin Laden - where he may go or hide. Coverage includes a photo essay from the front lines. Also: an update on AA Flight 587; the future of the airline industry; how Americans will be celebrating Thanksgiving with a look at changes in lifestyles.[AC]
NEW YORK, NY USA 11/18/2001
Secret Legal Document Gave Bush Wartime Powers,
Including Holding Secret Tribunals
NEW YORK, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- After he signed an order allowing the
use of military tribunals in terrorist cases, President George W. Bush
insisted he alone should decide who goes before such a military court, his
aides tell Newsweek. The tribunal document gives the government the power to
try, sentence -- and even execute -- suspected foreign terrorists in secrecy,
under special rules that would deny them constitutional rights and allow no
chance to appeal.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011118/HSSA005 )
Bush's powers to form a military court came from a secret legal
memorandum, which the U.S. Justice Department began drafting in the days after
Sept. 11, Newsweek has learned. The memo allows Bush to invoke his broad
wartime powers, since the U.S., they concluded, was in a state of "armed
conflict." Bush used the memo as the legal basis for his order to bomb
Afghanistan. Weeks later, the lawyers concluded that Bush would use his
expanded powers to form a military court for captured terrorists. Officials
envision holding the trials on aircraft carriers or desert islands, report
Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff and Contributing Editor Stuart
Taylor Jr. in the November 26 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday,
November 19).
The idea for a secret military tribunal was first presented by William
Barr, a Justice Department lawyer -- and later attorney general -- under the
first President Bush, as a way to handle the terrorists responsible for the
1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The idea didn't take back
then. But Barr floated it to top White House officials in the days after
Sept. 11 and this time he found allies, Newsweek reports. Barr's inspiration
came when he walked by a plaque outside his office commemorating the trial of
Nazi saboteurs captured during World War II. The men were tried and most were
executed in secret by a special military tribunal.
All articles in this archive are used under "fair use" as they are important to the national discussion of whether or not the people of this country are being deceived by their government. These articles are used as evidence in that discussion.
