Friday, May 22, 2009

Gitmo problems abound for Obama

Well, Barack Obama is finding that giving speeches--such as he did a lot of during last year's presidential campaign--is a lot harder than governing. Or governing by giving speeches--and hope everyone follows the Chosen One down his path.

Twenty four hours after addressing the situation with Guantanamo Bay detainees and what to do with them--it's safe to call his Gitmo speech a flop.

First we'll start with that gift that keeps on giving, Vice President Joe Biden, who said of closing Gitmo, "It's like opening Pandora's Box. We don't know what's inside the box."

He's right.

I remarked yesterday that Obama may have tipped his hand in regards to where many Guantanomo Bay inmates may hang their hats by saying that no terrorist has ever escaped from a supermax prison. We have only one true supermax prison, in Florence, Colorado, and guess what? It's filled to capacity!

There are problems with trying terrorists in civilian courts. The discovery process could tip the bad guys what we know--and remember we're at war. Former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey wrote two years ago, "In the course of prosecuting Omar Abdel Rahman (My note: The Blind Sheikh) … the government was compelled--as it is in all cases that charge conspiracy--to turn over a list of unindicted co-conspirators to the defendants. … Within 10 days a copy of that list reached bin Laden in Khartoum."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says there is another option, "We don't have to take all of those risks. Most of these trials ought to be conducted at Guantanamo, a $200 million, state-of-the-art facility with courtrooms for exactly this purpose."

And in an editorial entitled "Bush's Gitmo Vindication," the Wall Street Journal writes:

Mr. Obama called all of this a 'mess' that he had inherited, but in truth the mess is of his own haphazard design. He's the one who announced the end of Guantanamo without any plan for what to do with, or where to put, KSM (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) and other killers. Now he's found that his erstwhile allies in Congress and Europe want nothing to do with them. Tell us again why Gitmo should be closed?

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1 comment:

  1. the wolf3:33 PM

    Biden's comparison to the Pandora myth is apt, but not for the reason he thinks. In fact, we know all of the evils inside and I don't think there's any hope at the end.

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