] The president of the United States does not have the
] power to detain an American citizen seized on U.S. soil
] as an enemy combatant, a federal appeals court ruled on
] Thursday, in a serious setback to the bush
] administration's war on terror.

fuck you ABC... try "in a serious setback to the Bush administration's mad grab for complete executive power."

] "Where, as here, the President's power as Commander-in-Chief
] of the armed forces and the domestic rule of law intersect,
] we conclude that clear congressional authorization is required
] for detentions of Americans on American soil...."

thank you. of course, i guess this just means the military & 3 letter agencies will be even more careful and secretive when disappearing people.

] The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1
] ruling, said only the U.S. Congress can authorize such
] detentions and it ordered the government to release Jose
] Padilla from military custody within 30 days.
]
] The court said that the government can transfer Padilla,
] a U.S. citizen who has been held incommunicado in a Navy
] prison, to a civilian authority that can bring criminal
] charges against him.
]
] "Presidential authority does not exist in a vacuum and
] this case involves not whether those responsibilities
] should be aggressively pursued, but whether the President
] is obligated in the circumstances presented here to share
] them with Congress," the court said.