The US Senate approved a vast military spending bill that tied strings to military aid to Pakistan.
The $662 billion annual defense authorization legislation also
included a murky compromise on the issue of whether the US government
may hold suspected terrorists, including American citizens, indefinitely
without trial.
The bill, which sailed to passage by a lopsided 93-7 margin, the
lawmakers feuded for much of the week on the legislation affirmation of
past judicial opinions that US citizens who sign on with Al-Qaeda or
affiliated groups may be held indefinitely without trial.
Senators repeatedly rejected efforts to exempt Americans from that
fate, but ultimately voted 99-1 to embrace a face-saving compromise that
left the volatile issue to the US Supreme Court.
The legislation included a provision by Democratic Senator Bob Casey
aimed at blocking counterinsurgency aid to Pakistan until Islamabad
takes aggressive steps to curb the use of roadside bombs blamed for the
deaths of US soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan.
According to the spokesman of the White House, Obama administration
has serious reservations over the bill and every option would be used to
stop the bill. SANA
