Bill on detainees draws protests

Washington: The Bush administration's deal with Senate Republicans over detainee treatment is drawing protests from former diplomats, lawyers and a Republican committee chairman but appeared headed for a Senate vote by Friday.

On Monday, Senate Majority leader Bill Frist arranged Senate business to ensure that the Bill gets a vote in his chamber before the week's end, when Congress recesses for the congressional elections. He and Democratic leader Harry Reid said they expect to agree on a limited number of amendments.

"There's going to be very broad support" for the underlying Bill, Frist predicted. The diplomats, lawyers and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, however, oppose a provision that would strip federal courts of jurisdiction over cases in which detainees have not been charged with war crimes.

The effect, said those opposed, would be to deny terror suspects the ability to challenge their detention, a right afforded defendants in military and criminal courts.

Confident

Leading the charge was Specter, who plans to try to delete that provision from the Bill. He refused to commit to voting for the Bill should his amendment fail.

"I want to see how it shapes up," he said during an appearance at the National Press Club. "I don't make commitments to the president on how I'm going to vote." The objections didn't appear to be a deal-breaker for the White House. "We continue to work with the senators on this complicated legislation, and we're confident we'll be able to pull this Bill across the finish line," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.