McCain Denounces Detainee Ruling

View Aligns Him With President

By Juliet Eilperin and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 14, 2008

PEMBERTON, N.J., June 13 -- Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Friday forcefully sided with President Bush in condemning the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to grant access to federal courts for the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, potentially muddying his reputation as a critic of the administration's approach to treatment of suspected terrorists.

"We made it very clear these are enemy combatants," he told more than 1,000 supporters at a town hall meeting here, echoing the president's criticism of the court decision. "They have not, and never have been, given the rights of citizens of this country."

The presumptive GOP nominee then read from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s dissent in the case and predicted the courts will now be "flooded" with lawsuits from terrorism suspects.

"We are going to be bollixed up in a way that's terribly unfortunate," he said. "Our first obligation is the safety and security of this nation and the men and women who defend it. This decision will harm our ability to do that."

At a time when McCain is eager to distance himself from Bush on a variety of issues, the Supreme Court decision forces a public discussion in an area where he and the president fully agree: that allowing detainees access to U.S. courts will undermine the fight against global terrorism.

(Continued here.)