Military Commissions Passed

Military Commissions Passed
Boozman votes to bring terrorists to justice

U.S. Representative John Boozman today to further protect America from terrorists, hold enemies accountable and uphold America's tradition of legal protection by voting for the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

H.R. 6166, which passed the House by a vote of 253-168, creates a system of justice for suspected terrorists while protecting the nation's intelligence capabilities in the global War on Terror.

"Out country continues to succeed in capturing terrorists, including the masterminds of 9/11 and planners of would-be attacks against our homeland and our people," Boozman said. "These men who wish us harm deserve their day in court to face the consequences of their actions.

"Today, we filled a hole in our judicial mechanism so we can bring these accused terrorists to justice," Boozman added.

The Military Commission Act establishes a system of military tribunals to try alien enemy combatants who have engaged in, or supported terrorist activities. The act ensures that terrorists have basic legal rights, including the right to counsel and the right to appeal.

The substantive findings of classified evidence will be admissible in an unclassified manner. However, classified evidence itself continues to be protected and will not be shared with the accused.

Additionally, H.R. 6166 also takes the step of protecting American military and intelligence personnel by codifying violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.

"Today Americans continue to be potentially liable to prosecution because of the vagueness of Article 3," Boozman said. "The men and women on the front lines do not need to be second-guessing themselves while they are in harm's way. Defining the rules protects our servicemembers and allows them to continue to uphold the ideals and traditions of our armed forces."

http://boozman.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=50920