Senators question why suspect not headed to tribunal

WASHINGTON -- Top Pentagon officials sought to assure senators Wednesday that establishment of military tribunals would provide a faster, more streamlined way of trying individual terrorists, even though no tribunal will be used for the first person indicted on terror-related charges.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Justice Department officials never consulted the Pentagon about Zacarias Moussaoui, accused of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks, before prosecutors decided he will be tried in a traditional U.S. court.

Some senators expressed concern Wednesday that the Moussaoui decision could undercut President Bush's creation of special military tribunals for terrorists accused of war crimes.

"What greater violation of the laws of war could there be?" Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., asked Wolfowitz at a Senate hearing. "If we will not try Zacarias Moussaoui before a military tribunal, who will we try in a military tribunal?"

Moussaoui, 33, a French Moroccan in U.S. custody since August, was indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to murder thousands of Americans in the first criminal charges related to Sept. 11. He was accused of plotting with terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and others in attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

William J. Haynes, the Pentagon's general counsel, told Lieberman that military tribunals are designed for foreigners suspected of war crimes who are captured during hostilities since Sept. 11. Moussaoui "was apprehended on immigration charges before Sept. 11 and was already in the U.S. criminal justice system," he said.

At the White House, press secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush decided that Moussaoui should be prosecuted in federal court after conferring Monday with Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Ashcroft recommended a standard criminal trial in federal court open to the public, and Bush concurred, Fleischer said. But he added that Bush could change his mind.

Testifying before the Armed Services Committee, Wolfowitz said military tribunals are needed because the pursuit of al-Qaida terrorists "is not a law enforcement action -- it is war."

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the Armed Services Committee chairman, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., both told Wolfowitz that sufficient safeguards should be provided in tribunal regulations to avoid the specter of Peruvian and Colombian military courts that have prosecuted terrorism suspects with scant concern for defendants' rights, such as the case of American Lori Berenson, who has been in custody in Peru for years.

Also on Capitol Hill . . .

INTELLIGENCE BILL: The House unanimously passed an intelligence bill Wednesday that will place new emphasis on traditional human spy networks in combating terrorism.

The bill would increase spending by 8 percent; President Bush sought 7 percent. Besides focusing new attention and funding on human spies, it aims to increase the portion of collected data that gets analyzed and turned into useful information.

The Senate still must pass the compromise bill before it can be sent to President Bush.

BASE CLOSURES: Bowing to pressure from the Senate and the Bush administration, House negotiators reluctantly agreed Wednesday to launch a new round of military base closures, but only after postponing the controversial action until after the next presidential election.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS: Negotiations about an economic recovery package remained stuck Wednesday over President Bush's insistence that any plan include a reduction in personal income tax rates, a provision that congressional Democratic leaders said their members could not accept.

CDC FUNDING: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on its way to speeding up much-needed improvements and construction.

The House passed legislation Wednesday authorizing $750-million for the CDC for 2002 and 2003 by a vote of 418-2. Of the $750-million, $600-million would go for construction and $150-million would aid bioterrorism preparedness.

- Information from the Associated Press, New York Times and Cox Newspapers was used in this report.

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