McCain denounces U.S. Supreme Court ruling

PEMBERTON, N.J., June 13 (UPI) -- Likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain, on a campaign stop in New Jersey, Friday denounced the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Guantanamo detainees.

McCain, R-Ariz., called the high court's decision that detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have a right to appeal for release in U.S. courts "one of the worst I've ever seen," the Star-Ledger of Newark reported.

"These are not American citizens. They are enemy combatants," McCain said. "I think this is one of the biggest mistakes that's been made in terms of our ability to defend our nation in a long, long time."

McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner in North Vietnam, has been critical of the Bush administration's position on the treatment of detainees. But he said that the court, in finding that detainees have a right to appeal in the U.S. courts for release, made "a stunning reversal" of the principal that the president can, in time of war, decide on the holding of enemy combatants.

McCain made his comments during a stop at Burlington County College while on a bus trip through South Jersey.