Mike,

Actually the two oponents to using the enemy combatant designation were lawyers, one was an Air Force lawyer who was (may still be) a defense attorney for the Gitmo detainees and other lawyer was Tim McVeigh's defense attorney. Mr. Hayden of course is a key leader in the intelligence community and other guy was a speech writer for the former President G.W. Bush.

The point was made during the debate that the courts have already ruled that the detainees are properly designated as combatants, so the debate was actually an academic debate on the morality of that decision. Is it in accordance with our values?

I agree it would have been nice to see a lawyer on the proponent side who actually knew the arguments presented in the actual cases where the court ruled that they are enemy combatants. Still worthwhile to read or listen to in order to assess the perceptions of the debate.