NY Times: Military Tribunals Uphold Detentions of 4

Big surprise - the first four "enemy combatants" to have their cases heard before a military tribunal have had their combatant status upheld. Considering that the tribuals depart in almost every way from the Supreme Court's ruling that foreign nationals being held in Gitmo "receive notice of the factual basis for his classification, and a fair opportunity to rebut the government's factual assertions before a neutral decision maker," and "unquestionably [have] the right to access to counsel," it's no surprise at all that the rulings have gone against the detainees.

Eric M. Freedman, a law professor at Hoftsra University who has assisted in the representation of some detainees, is quoted by the Times as saying: "'The government is treating a historic loss in the Supreme Court as though it were a suggestion slip."

Thus the Bush administration continues its strategy of openly defying the authority of US courts (even the Supreme Court) to challenge its policies in the so-called "war on terror."