White House Does About-Face On Gitmo

Despite Reversal, Partisan Debate Over Detainees' Rights Rages On

(CBS/AP)  Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., also a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he was caught off-guard by the court ruling and has been disappointed with the partisan rhetoric from Democrats.

"Let's see what the administration comes up with. That's a start," Kyl said, adding that he hopes the Senate will have a sound bill in September.

Steven Bradbury, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, told the Senate hearing that the Bush administration would abide by the Supreme Court's ruling that a provision of the Geneva Conventions applies.

But he acknowledged that the provision, which requires humane treatment of captured combatants and requires trials with judicial guarantees "recognized as indispensable by civilized people," is ambiguous and would be hard to interpret.

"The application of common Article 3 will create a degree of uncertainty for those who fight to defend us from terrorist attack," Bradbury said.

The Pentagon stands to gain a lot from this change of policy, Cohen said.

"Now, arguably, our own soldiers around the world have a better chance to gain the protections of the Geneva Conventions from enemy states. I think the reciprocity issue here was a big factor," he said.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said efforts to spell out more clearly the rights of detainees does not change the president's determination to work with Congress to enable the administration to proceed with the military tribunals, or commissions. The goal is "to find a way to properly do this in a way consistent with national security," Snow said.

Snow said that the instruction manuals used by the Department of Defense already comply with the humane-treatment provisions of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. They are currently being updated to reflect legislation passed by Congress and sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to more expressly rule out torture.

Speaking after the Supreme Court issued its ruling, President Bush said he would work with Congress to get approval to try terrorism suspects before military tribunals.

On June 29, Mr. Bush said the ruling "won't cause killers to be put out on the street," and added that he "will not jeopardize the safety of the American people."

"The administration intends to work with Congress," Snow said.

"We want to fulfill the mandates of justice, making sure we find a way properly to try people who have been plucked off the battlefields who are not combatants in the traditional sense," he said.

"The Supreme Court pretty much said it's over to you guys (the administration and Congress) to figure out how to do this. And that is where this is headed."