As a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, I am actively engaged in the matter of the trial and detention of detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.  

On April 4, 2011 Attorney General Eric Holder announced that five 9/11 conspirators -- including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed -- will be tried before military commissions at Guantanamo rather than in a civilian court in the United States.  This announcement affirmed what I have consistently argued for several years: that military commissions, with the additional procedural rules added by Congress and enacted by President Obama, are the most appropriate venue for trying terrorist detainees. Those charged with crimes of war and those who have been determined to be dangerous law-of-war detainees do not belong in our courts, our prisons or our country.  

The new commission system is consistent with international standards. Moreover, it balances robust procedural and substantive rights for the defendants, including prohibiting the introduction of evidence obtained through torture, against the reality that these are not common criminals but violators of the law of war.

I will continue to monitor this situation closely to ensure that terrorists and war criminals are brought to justice in a manner which complies with the rule of law while protecting our national security.