I think it does apply to civilians.
After he signed an order allowing the
use of military tribunals in terrorist cases, President George W. Bush
insisted he alone should decide who goes before such a military court, his
aides tell Newsweek. The tribunal document gives the government the power to
try, sentence -- and even execute -- suspected foreign terrorists in secrecy,
under special rules that would deny them constitutional rights and allow no
chance to appeal.
(Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011118/HSSA005 )
Bush's powers to form a military court came from a secret legal
memorandum, which the U.S. Justice Department began drafting in the days after
Sept. 11, Newsweek has learned. The memo allows Bush to invoke his broad
wartime powers, since the U.S., they concluded, was in a state of "armed
conflict." Bush used the memo as the legal basis for his order to bomb
Afghanistan. Weeks later, the lawyers concluded that Bush would use his
expanded powers to form a military court for captured terrorists. Officials
envision holding the trials on aircraft carriers or desert islands, report
Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff and Contributing Editor Stuart
Taylor Jr.
I got this from Matt Drudges website. Been hearing a lot about it on the news also.
Bush has the power to handle this. I do not think it has been used since WW2 but he has the authority. It could be used to keep BinLaden from exploiting all the loopholes in our legal system.