Publius retracts

Yesterday, I noted that Publius had offered up some modest praise for Bush's proposed bill on military tribunals. I also said that, while I hadn't read the bill, I doubted that anything proposed by Bush could have anything good about it.

Today, Publius retracts his praise:

Well, I just found out that I was (shockingly) too quick to offer some praise for Bush's bill. In the immortal words of Richard Marx (Karl: no relation), I shoulda known better. (I can't take credit for the following insight, so thanks to Katherine for the helpful email).

Anyway, it's not so much that these military commissions are bad, it's that they're largely beside the point. Most detainees won't see them. That's why the most significant section of the Bush bill is probably not the War Crimes Act amendment, but the amendment to the habeas statute (p.77-78).