April 11, 2009

The district court's holding [to seek expedited appellate review of the jurisdictional ruling in the April 2, 2009 Order issued by U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates] is quite circumscribed. It applies only to persons captured outside a theater of war and transferred to Bagram. In no way is the military's right to hold POWs without subjecting such confinement to judicial scrutiny threatened by this ruling....

In short, Judge Bates' ruling should NOT be an impediment to the enactment of any new Obama Administration detainee policy UNLESS the Obama Administration will seek to establish policies that are like those enacted by the Bush Administration....

The appeal of this decision is rightly criticized by those who actually understand the implications of the appeal.

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