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Washington: US Attorney General Michael Mukasey thinks Congress should explicitly declare war against Al Qaida and write new rules for legal challenges by terrorism suspects.
Mukasey urged Congress to pass such legislation as the first US war crimes trial got under way at the US Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Democrats in control of Congress and civil rights groups reacted coolly to Mukasey's proposals, saying they would avoid judicial oversight and stack the deck in favour of the administration.
The legislation needs to conform with a landmark Supreme Court ruling that Guantanamo prisoners have the constitutional right known as "habeas corpus" to challenge their detention in federal court.
In addition, Mukasey said, "Any legislation should acknowledge that this nation remains engaged in an armed conflict with Al Qaida, the Taliban and associated organisations, who have already proclaimed themselves at war with us."
Some critics have said the Bush administration was too broad in asserting a nameless "war on terrorism" after the September 11 attacks.
Some legal challenges have said the government failed to show a detainee's sufficient connection to Al Qaida to justify continued imprisonment under the 2001 resolution.
A new declaration of war specifically naming Al Qaida would give the administration more power to detain suspects, said Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
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