WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL GONZALES ON ENEMY COMBATANTS

"Until today, the Government has been reticent about discussing
in any detail the decision-making steps that may result in an
American citizen being designated as an enemy combatant or how
an American detainee held in the United States may be provided
access to counsel," said White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales
last week.

"Our silence has been largely for reasons of national security."

"We realize that our relative silence on this issue has come at
a cost. Many people have characterized -- mis-characterized, in
our view -- our actions in the war on terrorism as inconsistent
with the rule of law."

"Indeed, because of our silence, many critics have assumed the
worst. They have assumed that there is little or no analysis
-- legal or otherwise -- behind the decision to detain a
particular person as enemy combatant. To them, the decision
making process is a black box that raises the specter of
arbitrary action."

In his February 24 speech, Mr. Gonzales filled in some of the
procedural gaps, while insisting that determinations regarding
who is an enemy combatant are the sole province of the
executive branch.

His presentation is predicated on the assumption that the "war
on terrorism" is analogous, in every significant way, to past
wars such as World War II and that past law and precedent is
therefore a sufficient guide to current practice.

See the text of his speech before the American Bar Association
Standing Committee on Law and National Security here [pdf-file!]
Remarks by Alberto R. Gonzales (Counsel to the President)

The speech was reported and analyzed in "Bush Counsel: How U.S.
Classifies Terror Suspects" by Vanessa Blum, Legal Times, March
1 (sub. or free [trial] reg. required):
link to Legal Times