The War on Terror detainee bill [3] passed the Senate last night and is now headed for the president's desk and a likely court challenge. The bill passed by the Senate reflects the House's proposal to provide both the president and government interrogators broader authority with regard to the detention, interrogation and trials of suspected terrorists. The bill passed by a 65-34 vote, and was supported by each GOP senator with the exception of Sen. Lincoln Chafee [4] (R-R.I.). Twelve Democrats also voted in favor of the legislation.

Following the vote, Sen. Jeff Sessions [5] (R-Ala.) defended the measure, arguing that “unlawful combatants, the kind we’re dealing with today, have never been given the full protections of the Geneva Conventions.” Sen. Arlen Specter [6] (R-Pa.), who supported many of the bill’s provisions but staunchly opposed its failure to grant habeas corpus protection to detainees, justified his "yea" vote by arguing that “the court will clean it up.” Sen. Patrick Leahy [7] (D-Vt.) echoed the views of many Senate Democrats when he asked, “Why would we allow the terrorists to win by doing to ourselves what they could never do, and abandon the principles for which so many Americans today and through our history have fought and sacrificed?”

For an in-depth look at the final bill and its road to passage (including how each member of Congress voted), be sure to check out Congresspedia [8]'s page on detainee legislation [3].