House Republicans warm to Bush’s tribunal plan

By Vicki Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Bush administration, facing a
revolt among Senate Republicans over its system for trying
foreign terrorism suspects, on Wednesday courted more receptive
Republicans on the House side of the U.S. Congress.

Most Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee
indicated they would back the administration’s push for
lawmakers to endorse its system of military commissions for
terrorism suspects that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled illegal.

But Democrats on the committee balked, joining some key
Republicans and Democrats already resisting the move in the
U.S. Senate. They said they would push to revamp President
George W. Bush’s tribunals for trying detainees to be more like
the U.S. military justice system.

“We have an opportunity to do better in terms of worldwide
opinion,” said Rep. Vic Snyder, an Arkansas Democrat.

Bush has faced international criticism for the indefinite
detention and allegations of mistreatment of foreign terrorism
suspects at the U.S. Naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Supreme Court last week ruled that Bush’s system for
military commissions set up after the September 11 attacks
violated U.S. military rules and the Geneva Conventions and was
not authorized by Congress.

Administration officials told the House committee the court
would be satisfied if Congress gave legislative backing to
Bush’s plan, with some minor changes.

Daniel Dell’Orto, the Defense Department’s principal deputy
general counsel, said the court “apparently found no underlying
flaw in the commission process as established. It simply said
the president did not consult with the Congress.”

A number of committee Republicans seemed to agree with
Dell’Orto.

“Let’s see if there is a need or a practical reason to
change the rules,” said Duncan Hunter of California, the
Republican chairman of the committee. “We have to give the
executive the tools to fight this war.”

Republican Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan asked, “Could it
be as easy as we just ratify what the administration has done?”

That contrasted with sharp questioning by several
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday when
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned the administration
faced “a long, hot summer” if it refused to accept the military
justice code as the base for the trial process.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a
Virginia Republican, has said he intended to “rely as much as
possible” on the military code of justice on legislation.

The administration says the military justice system would
give foreign terrorism suspects more rights than are provided
in civilian courts. That would impede interrogations and could
compromise classified information, officials said.

Several House Democrats said no one in Congress was
encouraging blanket adoption of the U.S. court martial rules.

Steven Bradbury, acting assistant attorney general, said
Congress should clarify “vague” language in the Geneva
Conventions’ provision barring inhumane treatment that the
court said applied to the foreign terrorism suspects.

The Bush administration made clear on Wednesday that all
detainees in Washington’s war on terrorism are covered by
Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, without specifically
making any distinction between those in military custody and
those in custody of agencies such as the CIA.

CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise Dyck had no comment on
the implications for any detainees in CIA custody.

(additional reporting by Caren Bohan in Rostock, Germany
and David Morgan in Washington)