Friday, May 15, 2009
Obama revives tribunals for Gitmo detainees
President Barack Obama on Friday restarted a Bush-era military trial system for a small number of Guantanamo detainees, reviving a method of prosecution he once assailed as flawed but with new legal protections for terror suspects.
In a three-paragraph White House statement, Obama announced the decision that already has drawn criticism from liberal groups, arguing that it will ensure a legitimate forum to prosecute alleged terrorists being held at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"This is the best way to protect our country, while upholding our deeply held values," the president said in a statement.
Obama had criticized the system established by President George W. Bush, and in his statement, he said it had only succeeded in prosecuting three suspected terrorist in more than seven years.
Answering liberal complaints, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters: "First and foremost, the president does what is in the best security interest of the United States."...
Funny, George Bush's press secretary could have said exactly the same thing. I guess the tribunals aren't so against American values that a little tweak here and there can't fix them.
See also: Democrats Discover Gitmo's Virtues, Move the detainees? Not to my backyard
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Well, on the bright side, it will certainly make protesting all the easier. All they'll have to do is cross out Bush and replace it with Obama on their old protest signs and they'll be ready to go. It won't be so easy for the bumper stickers though. Slogans like "Don't blame me, I voted for um...um..." probably won't catch on I'm thinking.