Bush signs anti-terrorism, prisoner treatment laws

By Tabassum Zakaria

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) – President George W. Bush on
Friday signed legislation extending key provisions of the
anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act until February 3 and a bill that
bans cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners, despite initial
resistance to both measures.

The United States has been criticized for its handling of
prisoners after the abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison in
Iraq, harsh interrogations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and reports
of secret CIA prisons overseas for terrorism suspects.

The provision on the treatment of detainees was included in
a defense spending bill. Bush had initially threatened to veto
legislation that contained that measure, but backed off after
congressional votes showed overwhelming support for the
amendment pushed by Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who
was a former prisoner of war in the Vietnam conflict.

“U.S. law and policy already prohibit torture,” Bush said
in a statement. “Our policy has also been not to use cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment, at home or abroad.

“This legislation now makes that a matter of statute for
practices abroad.”

In a concession to the White House, the bill curbs the
ability of inmates at Guantanamo to challenge their detention
in federal court.

“I also appreciate the legislation’s elimination of the
hundreds of claims brought by terrorists at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, that challenge many different aspects of their detention
and that are now pending in our courts,” Bush said.

On the Patriot Act, Bush had strongly pushed for a
permanent renewal, but Congress passed a temporary extension to
allow more time to consider civil liberties protections.

RESPONSE TO SEPT 11 ATTACKS

The Patriot Act was a response to the September 11 attacks
and expanded the authority of the federal government to conduct
secret searches, obtain private records and intercept telephone
calls, among other activities, to track down suspected terror
cells.

“Our law enforcement community needs this, he’s not
satisfied with a one-month extension. But we’ve got to get that
in place, and we’ve got to work with them to get it permanently
re-extended,” said White House spokesman Trent Duffy.

The debate over whether some of the provisions infringe too
much on civil liberties became more heated after the revelation
that Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct a
domestic eavesdropping operation on Americans with suspected
ties to terrorism without seeking court approval.

Among the civil protections being debated in Congress are
rules for “roving” wiretaps of suspects who use multiple
telephones and court orders for records for businesses,
libraries, bookstores and personal medical records.

The Patriot Act extension and defense spending legislation
were among several bills signed into law by Bush while on
vacation at his Texas ranch.

The $453.3 billion defense spending bill included $50
billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan until
Congress acts on another emergency war supplemental next year,
which lawmakers expect to be between $80 billion and $100
billion.

The defense spending bill also provides $29 billion to
rebuild levees, schools, roads and other infrastructure
destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

And it contains nearly $3.8 billion to begin preparations
for a possible avian flu pandemic.

Bush also signed into law legislation authorizing space
exploration programs for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, and a spending bill for the departments of
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.