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July 27, 2009

Cheney Wanted US Troops to Arrest Suspected Terrorists Inside US
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The New York Times is reporting top Bush administration officials
considered sending US troops into the suburbs of Buffalo in 2002 to
arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with al-Qaeda. Vice
President Cheney backed the plan despite legal restrictions on the
military being used to conduct domestic raids and seize property. Cheney
based his argument in part on a 2001 Justice Department memo from
attorneys John Yoo and Robert Delahunty that declared the Fourth
Amendment did not apply to domestic military operations. Former
officials said the 2002 debate arose partly from Justice Department
concerns that there might not be enough evidence to arrest and
successfully prosecute the suspects in Lackawanna. Cheney wanted the men
to be declared enemy combatants and held indefinitely in military
custody without trial. Cheney ended up losing the debate, and President
Bush ordered the FBI to make the arrests in Lackawanna. The five men
arrested there in September 2002, and a sixth arrested nearly
simultaneously in Bahrain, pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges.



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