WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A leading congressional Republican made the case Wednesday for approving President George W. Bush's policy on prosecuting terror suspects.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, made his case on the floor of the House before it voted 253 to 168 to approve a bill endorsing the Bush administration's new policies on interrogating and prosecuting terror suspects.
"This is vital legislation important to the national security of the United States," Hunter said. "Our foremost consideration in writing this legislation is to protect American troops and American citizens from harm."
"The war against terror has produced a new type of battlefield and a new type of enemy," he said. "How is it different? We are fighting a ruthless enemy who does not wear a uniform -- a savage enemy who kills civilians, women and children and then boasts about it. A barbaric enemy who beheads innocent civilians by sawing their heads off. An uncivilized enemy who does not acknowledge or respect the laws of war, the Geneva Conventions or any of the guarantees which are recognized by civilized nations.
"In this new war, where intelligence is more vital than ever, we want to interrogate the enemy. Not to degrade them, but to save the lives of Americans troops, American civilians, and our allies," Hunter said.
"What we have done is to develop a military commission process that will allow for the effective prosecution of enemy combatants during this ongoing conflict," he said. "Without this action, United States has no effective means to try and punish the perpetrators of Sept. 11, the attack on the USS. Cole and the embassy bombings."
