Pizzas galore!

Republicans argued that the new legislation was essential, arguing that lawsuits from Guantanamo Bay inmates were blocking the courts’ ability to proceed with the course of justice and were detracting from the war on terror. They accused the Democrats of being soft on matters of national security.

Twelve Democrats joined the Republicans in voting in favour of the bill, while one Republican, Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, opposed it and another did not vote.

However, most Democrats slammed the measures as "unconstitutional" and "un-American", saying they fell short of fair judicial standards and would further increase international anger towards the US at its treatment of detainees since 9/11.

They accused Republicans of rushing through the legislation in order to gain votes in the November elections, rather than because the bill made good sense.

"This longstanding tradition of our country about to be abandoned here is one of the great, great mistakes that I think history will record," said Democrat Chris Dodd.

The removal of habeas corpus came under particular criticism, from both sides, with even some Republicans who voted for the bill nonetheless predicting it likely that the Supreme Court would strike down the legislation because of its scrapping of the right of prisoners to challenge their own detention.

Democrats also criticised the sanctioning of harsh interrogation techniques which they said would border on torture. "This bill gives an administration that lobbied for torture exactly what it wanted," said Senator John Kerry

"I’m convinced that future generations will view passage of this bill as a grave error," said Harry Reid, a Democrat and Senate Minority Leader.

Dianne Feinstein, another Democrat, added: "We are being asked to consider legislation that will determine how our troops and personnel, foreign troops and personnel, as well as innocent bystanders, will be treated when captured during conflict."

The new bill was sent to Congress after the Supreme Court ruled that the military tribunals set up by President’s Bush after the September 11 attacks, mainly to try suspected Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters captured in Afghanistan, violated the US Constitution as well international law under the Geneva Convention.

Another bill was then submitted by the White House earlier this month, but was contested by three key Senate Republicans, who argued they would not support a bill that flouted the Geneva Convention.

John McCain, one of the three Republicans who rebelled, said that the new bill was a compromise, which, crucially, maintained the country’s commitment to adhere to the Geneva Convention.

"The United States should champion the Geneva Conventions, not look for ways to get around them, lest we invite others to do the same," he said, speaking minutes before the vote.

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