Say Anything Blog

Congress is moving already in the wake of the Hamdan ruling, with leaders of the Republican majority angling to give President Bush what he wants in terms of military tribunals for Gitmo detainees.

The approval of Congress is all that is needed to make Bush's tribunals perfectly legal in accordance with the Hamdan ruling.

The Supreme Court concluded two things on Hamdan:

1. That the military tribunals established by the Bush administration were not in keeping with the Uniform Code of Military Justice as written by Congress.



2. Because of number one, the tribunals also weren't in accordance with the Geneva conventions which require (according to page six of the Hamdan ruling) that the detainees be tried in a military court "established and organized in accordance with the laws and procedures already in force in a country."

If Congress simply changes the UCMJ (or takes similar appropriate action) to allow for the tribunals as established by the Bush administration then the Hamdan ruling will be satisfied and the tribunals for the detainees at Guantanamo can commence.

Politically, though, this may be a tough row to hoe in Congress. Bush will likely get what he wants from the GOP majority in Congress, but not the President's fellow party members are going to let approval get through without first lording this need for legislative approval over the executive branch.