Jose Padilla can be held

A federal appeals court Friday sided
with the Bush administration and reversed a judge's order that the
government charge or free "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that
the president has the authority to detain a U.S. citizen closely
associated with al Qaida.

A federal
judge in South Carolina had ruled in March that the government cannot
hold Padilla indefinitely as an "enemy combatant," a designation
President Bush gave him in 2002.

The government views Padilla as a militant who planned attacks on the
United States, including with a "dirty bomb" radiological device.