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Backlash Builds on a Quiet ‘Hill’
Wednesday, November 28, 2001, edition
By Gail Russell Chaddock
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

"The World Trade Center is in the middle of my district, [but] we must not use the attack ... as an excuse to destroy our Constitution," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D) of New York, in a statement opposing the presidential order on military tribunals.

WASHINGTON -- CSM
If history is any guide, wartime Congresses are usually irrelevant. They may thunder and roar, but in the end, the president decides the conduct of a war -- including curtailing cherished liberties when deemed necessary.

That's a record some members of the 107th Congress are eager to revise. And today's hearings in the Senate Justice Committee aim to serve notice to the Bush administration that Congress will not be left out of this war on terrorism.

Unlike some other wartime legislatures, this Congress has no doubts on the purpose of this war. Lawmakers passed new anti-terrorist laws with barely a hitch, including broad new powers to detain those suspected of a connection with terrorist activity, to track their funds, and to eavesdrop on private conversations.

But a backlash is brewing on Capitol Hill over steps the Bush team has taken since then to expand its powers to conduct the war -- all without consulting or even informing lawmakers.
(More: CSMonitor.com News Source)
2001 © The Christian Science Monitor.

Dan