The US Congress moved Wednesday towards final passage of legislation that freezes some aid to Pakistan, slaps harsh new sanctions on Iran, and embraces indefinite detention of suspected terrorists. The Republican-led House of Representatives was to approve the $662 billion Defence Authorisation bill, which also sets high hurdles for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, and the Democratic-held Senate was to quickly follow suit.
US President Barack Obama had threatened to veto an earlier version of the yearly legislation, but has not weighed in since key lawmakers from both chambers worked out a compromise they hoped the White House would accept. The legislation notably requires that al Qaeda fighters who plot or carry out attacks on US targets be held in military, not civilian, custody, subject to a presidential waiver.
The measure exempts US citizens from that fate, but leaves it to the US Supreme Court or future presidents to decide whether US nationals who sign on with al Qaeda or affiliated groups may be held indefinitely without trial. Obama had warned he could reject the original proposal over the military custody issue, as well as provisions he charged would short-circuit civilian trials for alleged terrorists.
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