Holder Calls Bush Detentions Illegal?

[kpete]

Holder Calls Bush Detentions Illegal?
by buhdydharma
Fri Mar 13, 2009 at 03:09:42 PM PDT.

Link to TPM's Department Of Justice Withdraws 'Enemy Combatant' Definition For Guantanamo Detainees

"As we work towards developing a new policy to govern detainees, it is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our national security, is consistent with our values, and is governed by law," said Attorney General Holder. "The change we've made today meets each of those standards and will make our nation stronger."

Did Attorney General Holder just call the Bush detentions illegal? In a statement released by the DOJ today, Holder announced some sweeping changes to the Bush standards of detention that lead to the legal quagmire at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.

Why do we need to change them if they are not illegal?

If they are illegal, where are the indictments, investigations and prosecutions?

The definition does not rely on the President's authority as Commander-in-Chief independent of Congress's specific authorization. It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress. It provides that individuals who supported al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial. And it does not employ the phrase "enemy combatant."

...

The government's new standard relies on the international laws of war to inform the scope of the president's authority under this statute, and makes clear that the government does not claim authority to hold persons based on insignificant or insubstantial support of al Qaeda or the Taliban.

more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/3/13/17425/1921/624/708219

[proud patriot]

1. I sure those indictments are coming soon