Powers of Military Tribunals

• Permit extended detention and questioning of Middle Easterners recently entering United States.

• Slow down the process for granting visas to Muslims.

• Allow monitoring of communications between people in federal custody and their lawyers.

Assault on Liberty

• Non-U.S. citizens charged with terrorism can be tried in the United States, overseas, or even on military ships.

• Suspects brought before a tribunal will have no right to seek redress in any state, federal, foreign, or international court.

• Defendants could include suspects who attack Americans or U.S. interests.

• May hold and try suspects in secret, with no public scrutiny. Freedom of Information Act may not apply.

• Could impose any sentence, including death, with no judicial review.

• May allow conviction after a "full and fair" trial by a two-thirds majority, as opposed to unanimous verdict.

• Tribunals need not obey the principles of law and the rules of evidence used in U.S. District Courts.

• Only the president or the secretary of defense will have the power to overturn a tribunal's decisions.

• The executive order has no apparent expiration date.

• The order applies specifically to Al Qaeda.