Congressman Cole Votes for Military Commissions Act

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Cole today voted in favor of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (H.R. 6166), which passed the House by a vote of 253-168. The Military Commissions Act will help create a system of justice for suspected terrorists that will protect our nation’s intelligence capabilities while giving the suspected terrorists basic legal protections.

Congressman Cole led the debate on the U.S. House floor in support of the rule for this legislation. A rule, which sets the terms of debate on the floor, must be passed before the actual piece of legislation is debatable.

"This critical legislation ensures that we align the procedural protections for terrorists with our Constitution. In doing so, we are extending unprecedented legal and procedural protections to enemies who provide no protection to their captives and victims and who have neither signed nor operated by the Geneva Conventions. To ensure that terrorist detainees are not released to once again wreak havoc, it was necessary to move this legislation and develop a clear set of standards for military commissions," Congressman Tom Cole said during the debate on the U.S. House floor.

The Military Commissions Act includes the compromises worked out among the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives last week. The measure fully conforms with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, as well as all applicable U.S. laws and international treaty obligations.

". . .all of these protections that we will be providing terrorists are the very same protections that they ignore when beheading, mutilating and killing our civilians and servicemen. These terrorists have no respect for the rule of law, they are not signatories of the Geneva Convention, they do not fight in uniforms and they kill innocent civilians and servicemen routinely. Yet we are still willing to grant them some substantive legal protections that I honestly believe go beyond the actual requirements of the Geneva Convention," Congressman Cole stated during the debate of H.R. 6166.

The Military Commissions 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, the right to obtain evidence and witnesses, and the right to appeal a guilty verdict. Suspected terrorists have the right to be present at all legal proceedings, and no evidence may be presented to the jury unless it is also provided to the accused terrorist.

The substantive findings of classified evidence will be admissible in an unclassified form, but the classified evidence itself is protected and is privileged from disclosure to accused terrorists—as well as the panel of jurists—if the disclosure of the information would be detrimental to national security. The act also protects our military and intelligence personnel by codifying violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. Currently, the article’s vague provisions are open to a variety of interpretations, potentially rendering American personnel liable to prosecution without just cause.

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