Carl Levin, Obama administration tangle over detainee policy

[The Northerner]

In the past three years, President Barack Obama's administration has been in numerous public skirmishes with Congressional Republicans over legislation intended to limit Obama's power to release Al Qaeda prisoners, move them to the U.S. and decide where they should face trial. But this week the Obama team finds itself in a public showdown with a fairly liberal Democrat who heads up the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin of Michigan.

Levin took to the Senate floor on Friday to reject the factual contentions in a veto threat the White House issued against the defense authorization bill on Thursday over detainee-related language contained in the latest draft of the legislation.

"There are issues here that need to be debated, that should be debated, but there is nothing but confusion created to a issue that is already complex when misstatements are made about what is in the bill of the committee and what is not in the bill of the committee," Levin said in comments that appeared to be directed both at the administration and at Democratic colleagues in the Senate who are opposed to the Armed Services Committee proposal, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

"The words that are in the committee bill are words that are clear. They need to be debated, but they should not be exaggerated or misinterpreted," Levin complained, dismissing claims in the administration's statement about the legislation as "allegation."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/1111/Carl_Levin_Obama_administration_tangle_over_detainee_policy.html#

[gratuitous]

1. It should be a source of constant astonishment

That we even need to "debate" whether or not people should be held incommunicado indefinitely, without charge, trial, or access to counsel. And when astonishment is used up, righteous anger should be the next emotion.