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Politics
President signs detainee measure
The law allows tough interrogation tactics against terror suspects.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 18, 2006
WASHINGTON - President Bush said he was saving lives with a stroke of his pen Tuesday, signing a law authorizing tough interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects. The legislation gives legal protection to CIA agents who have used harsh techniques to force alleged terrorists to describe their plans, their al-Qaida leaders and other information that Bush said has helped prevent attacks on the United States. It also opens the door for terror prosecutions before military commissions, without some of the rights usually guaranteed under U.S. law. "It is a rare occasion when a president can sign a bill he knows will save American lives," Bush said. "I have that privilege this morning." The Supreme Court ruled in June that trying detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. law, so Bush urged Congress to change the law during a Sept. 6 speech attended by families of the Sept. 11, 2001, victims. Six weeks later, after a dispute with key Republicans over the terms of the bill, Bush signed the new law "in memory of the victims of Sept. 11." "With the bill I'm about to sign, the men our intelligence officials believe orchestrated the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent people will face justice," Bush said Tuesday.
[Last modified October 18, 2006, 05:45:45]
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