WP: Nominee Criticized Over Post-9/11 Policies

[kskiska]

Michael Chertoff, President Bush's nominee to be secretary of homeland security, is widely hailed for his intellectual heft and tireless work habits as a federal prosecutor and judge. But he also faces criticism as an architect of some of the most controversial elements of the Bush administration's domestic war on terrorism that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

As an assistant attorney general in the months after the attacks, Chertoff helped oversee the detention of 762 foreign nationals for immigration violations; none of them was charged with terrorism-related crimes. A subsequent report by the Justice Department's inspector general determined that Justice's "no bond" policy for the detainees -- a tactic whose legality was questioned at the time by immigration officials -- led to lengthy delays in releasing them from prison, where some faced "a pattern of physical and verbal abuse."

"We're very concerned that Judge Chertoff views immigration solely through the lens of national security and counterterrorism, and that his record on counterterrorism needs to be closely examined," said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, a civil liberties group.

(snip)

In the chaotic weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, fearful that other terrorist "sleepers" might mount new attacks, ordered the detention of hundreds of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian men who had committed even minor immigration violations. He named Chertoff, as head of the criminal division, to lead the effort.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2102-2005Jan11.html

[Clark2008]

1. Lovely protectors of the democracy - NOT

These Bushbots are evil.

I mean, they're like cockroaches. One gets crushed and a thousand more take their place.

And, my apologies to cockroaches.