The Senate today narrowly rejected a measure that would have allowed suspected terrorists to challenge their detention in federal court, as the body moved closer to passing a White House-backed bill to authorize special military tribunals for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.

In a key vote on an amendment sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermonth, the Senate voted 51 to 48 against deleting from the bill a provision that rules out habeas corpus petitions for foreigners held in the war on terrorism. The writ of habeas corpus, which is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, allows people to challenge in court the legality of their detention, essentially meaning that they cannot be held indefinitely without charge or trial.

The issue was one of the most contentious in the bill, the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The proposed legislation authorizes the president "to establish military commissions for the trial of alien unlawful enemy combatants engaged in hostilities against the United States for violations of the law of war and other offenses. ..." It would also set the parameters for interrogating terrorism suspects.

In debate on the amendment, Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and other Republicans whom he described as "moderate," charged that denying habeas corpus to detainees would be unconstitutional.