Obama Backing Away From Closing Down Guantanamo Bay
On the campaign trail Obama found Guantanamo Bay to be an easy target to fire upon in front of adoring left-wing crowds. Time and again he promised to close down the facility and end the “torture” (like, um, music played loudly) that is allegedly happening there. But now that he’s actually the commander-in-chief and has to actually make decisions that he’ll ultimately be held responsible for he’s finding that the issue of Guantanamo isn’t quite as cut-and-dried as those on the left would have us believe.
President-elect Barack Obama said this weekend that he does not expect to close Guantanamo Bay in his first 100 days in office.
“I think it’s going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak to help design exactly what we need to do,” Obama said in an exclusive “This Week” interview with George Stephanopoulos, his first since arriving in Washington.
“It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize,” the president-elect explained. “Part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication. And some of the evidence against them may be tainted even though it’s true. And so how to balance creating a process that adheres to rule of law, habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo-American legal system, by doing it in a way that doesn’t result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.”
“Tainted even though it’s true.” Chilling words, I think. It indicates that Barack Obama may be willing to release dangerous terrorists back into the world, freeing them to take up once again their jihad against America and western-style freedom in general, based not on their actual innocence but upon some legal technicality.
This is what happens when you put lawyers in charge of national security.
But at least Obama does seem to be grasping that simply releasing the dangerous criminals detained at Guantanamo Bay – criminals no other country want – could well result in a PR nightmare for him. Because if even one of those released detainees is caught again attacking our troops in the middle east, or involved in some terror plot, the blood will be on his hands.
It’s very easy to rail against Guantanamo Bay. It’s easy to march in the streets wearing orange jumpsuits and decrying the alleged mistreatment (for which there is no evidence) of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. It’s quite another to be the person responsible for releasing them back into the world, and the one who must face the consequences for such a decision.
