Obama Won’t Seek Law for Indefinite Detentions, Will Rely on Existing Authority

President Obama won’t be pursuing legislation to allow the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects.

Instead Obama plans to rely on existing authority drawn from a 2001 congressional resolution authorizing military force against al-Qaida and the Taliban, according to the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).

The decision “avoids a potentially rancorous debate,” according to the Post.