Obama's Not So Secret Plan to Close Gitmo

The Obama administration has faced criticism that they have no plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. President Barack Obama campaigned on closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Obama has been blocked by both parties in Congress from closing Gitmo.

Candidate Obama was asked on 60 Minutes if he would use the power of executive order to close Gitmo. Obama said yes. Obama has never been the wisest tactician. The Senate voted to block funding for transfers of Gitmo prisoners. The vote was held on May 20, 2009. Obama should have just moved the prisoners when he came into office.

The Obama administration's secret plan really isn't that secret. A two page memo really isn't much of a plan. It does cast a lot of blame on Congress. Much of that blame is deserved.

Prosecution and Detention. The U.S. Government will prosecute detainees in federal courts or military commission proceedings to the extent feasible and in the national security interest. The President has directed the Department of Defense to identify a site in the United States for military commission proceedings. But current law bars the transfer of detainees to the United States for any reason. As a result, the Government is prohibited from prosecuting any detainees in a military commission in the United States or in a federal court, even if it represents the best – or only – option for bringing a detainee to justice. This is true even though the Government has successfully prosecuted more than 490 terrorism-related cases in federal courts since 9/11. For those not prosecuted, the Administration will use the PRB process to regularly and carefully review the threat posed by detainees and, where appropriate, they will be designated for transfer.

The leaked secret plan. It really isn't a secret plan if the memo lists prisoner policies the Obama administration has been pushing for and that this secret plan was handed to the media by White House staffers.

White House Plan to Close Guantanamo

Gitmo Is All About Politics

Kristen Breitweiser was one of the infamous Jersey Girls that pressured Congress to form the 9/11 Commission. Breitweiser writes about how President Obama invited 9/11 families to the White House and promised to close Guantanamo Bay.

For the past two years, it's been President Obama in the Oval Office. Quite early on in his presidency, Obama invited the 9/11 families to the White House to discuss 9/11-related issues. During this meeting in Feb '09 the topic of closing Guantanamo and the use of Article 3 courts to prosecute the remaining alleged 9/11 conspirators was discussed. Many of us were incredibly relieved to learn that as a matter of course President Obama was going to shut down Guantanamo and support the open prosecution of the alleged 9/11 conspirators. He gave us -- the varies widows and children at the meeting -- his golden word. He shook our hands. He smiled broadly. He posed for pictures. (In fact, several weeks later many of the widows received hand signed courtesy copies of these photos from Obama -- a nice touch. I did not receive such a photo.)

Obama's "golden word" isn't worth much. The Justice Department announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be tried in a military tribunal at Guantanamo. In Obama's defense, Congress refused to fund the transfer of detainees to the United States. Slate columnist Dahlia Lithwick knocks the blame Republican defense aside.

Say what you will about how Congress forced Obama's hand today by making it all but impossible to try the 9/11 conspirators in regular Article III courts. The only lesson learned is that Obama's hand can be forced. That there is no principle he can't be bullied into abandoning. In the future, when seeking to pass laws that treat different people differently for purely political reasons, Congress needs only fear-monger and fabricate to get the president to cave. Nobody claims that this was a legal decision. It was a political triumph or loss, depending on your viewpoint. The rule of law is an afterthought, either way.

Obama's and the Republican Party's legal stance makes sense when viewed through the prism of politics. Republicans could play to the base by keeping detainees at Gitmo. Obama needed the base in 2008 and had to campaign against Bush's unpopular detainee torture and secret prison policies. Once Obama got elected he could forget about the detainees issue after Republicans shot it down in Congress. Obama wasn't about to spend political capital defending the rights of the very guilty Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Republicans were spared from having to defend torture. Everyone wins. Except the rule of law.

What Media Media: Adam Smith Lets Bilirakis Spread Gitmo B.S.

Gus Bilirakis: The conditions are unbelievable. Too good, as far as I am concerned. Flat screen TVs. They have a choice of seven meals... these terrorists. They play sports. If they are on good behavior they can be outside 20-hours-a-day. It's unbelievable.

It really is unbelievable. It is so unbelievable that I'm laughing. Detainees are outside "20 hours-a-day." If they are sleeping in makeshift tents I can believe that. Florida prisons have been known to house prisoners outdoors because of lack of space. There is no way military guards will just let detainees randomly roam the facility.

I can buy the TVs under Obama. State and federal prisons have televisions. The Hillsborough County Jail only allows prisoners to watch PBS. Occasionally, a guard will break the rules because he wants to watch a football game. The guard will tell the prisoners not to tell a soul. I know this because I have some interesting friends. Amnesty International reported Gitmo prisoners were put in isolation during the Bush years. Detainees then did not have the option of watching television. Conditions were so bad detainees were using a bucket for a toilet.

Detainees are confined for 22 hours a day to individual, enclosed, steel cells where they are almost completely cut off from human contact. The cells have no windows to the outside or access to natural light or fresh air. No activities are provided, and detainees are subjected to 24 hour lighting and constant observation by guards through the narrow windows in the cell doors. They exercise alone in a high-walled yard where little sunlight filters through; detainees are often only offered exercise at night and may not see daylight for days at a time.

What is really sad is Adam Smith actually agreeing with Bilirakis's fantasy assessment. So much for a tough follow up question.

Adam Smith: Maybe they be in worst conditions then a cold federal prision in Illinois.

Journalists like Smith is why I laugh when Republicans whine about the so-called liberal media. Conservatives have their own media to cover the Tea Party Convention. Republicans have talk radio and their own cable news network. It is shameful when Smith doesn't do his job as a journalist. Smith is more interested in gaining access to politicians than asking than setting the record straight.

Quote of the Day

"It’s up to all of us to say these arguments advanced by Cheney and his acolytes are nonsense and that really what they’re doing is undermining our national security by delaying the date at which Guantanamo is closed."

Retired Brig. Gen. James Cullen

Hat tip to GottaLaff.

Michael Lehnert On Gitmo

In 2001, Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert was in charge of detainee treatment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Lehnert attempted to have Marine security personel honor the Geneva Conventions. Former Se. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld opposed Lehnert's efforts. Lehnert told Tony Perry of the Los Angeles Times Guantanamo Bay hurt America's international standing.

"I think we lost the moral high ground," Lehnert said. "For those who do not think much of the moral high ground, that is not that significant.

"But for those who think our standing in the international community is important, we need to stand for American values. You have to walk the walk, talk the talk."

Lehnert advocates for the immediate closing of Gitmo.

"I think we should close it down," he said. "I think the information we're getting is not worth the international beating we're taking."

No, it isn't. The recent arrest of Najibullah Zazi proves terrorism can be prevented without torture. The inhumane treatment of detainees at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib have been used by Al-Qaeda for recruitment. Creating more terrorists is a terrible tactic for terrorism prevention.

Why A Gitmo Prosecutor Quit

Former Army Reserve lieutenant colonel Darrel J. Vandeveld served as a prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay. Vandeveld was placed in charge of prosecuting Mohammed Jawad. Vandeveld discovered Jawad was likely tortured. Vandeveld became disillusioned and wanted to quit.

"How do I get myself out of this office?" Vandeveld asked Major David J.R. Frakt of the Air Force Reserve, who represented the young Afghan Vandeveld was prosecuting for an attack on U.S. soldiers -- despite Vandeveld's doubts about whether Mohammed Jawad would get a fair trial. Vandeveld said he was seeking a "practical way of extricating myself from this mess."

Last month, Vandeveld did just that, resigning from the Jawad case, the military commissions overall and, ultimately, active military duty. In doing so, he has become even more of a central figure in the "mess" he considers Guantanamo to be.

Vandeveld talked to Lara Logan about the Jawad case.

Quote of the Day

"If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the census bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations, at the request of President Roosevelt, and that’s how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps."

Michele Bachmann

Japanese Americans were placed into interment camps because of President Roosevelt's xenophobic paranoia. Bachmann's own xenophobia allows her to continue supporting the holding unprosecuted detainess in Guantanamo Bay. 540 detainees have been released. Many were captured by Afghan warlords and sold to the CIA. There are accounts of warlords capturing innocent men to collect bounties. Bachmann's and other Republicans' ears are offended at hearing such information.

Bachmann terrorism stance is merely posturing. She quickly goes into panic mode, at the thought of detainees living in her state.

"It is simply irresponsible to shut down a facility that houses known terrorists and transfer them to our neighborhoods," said Congresswoman Bachmann. "While I understand the interest of the White House in making this well-orchestrated PR move, these are very dangerous terrorists and they must be treated as such. To transfer them anywhere near Minnesota residents - or any American citizen for that matter, is a risk we cannot afford to take."

Bachmann wants national security without sacrifice. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and Timothy McVeigh were held at the ADX Florence supermax prison in Colorado. No prisoner ever escaped. Gitmo detainees would not go to Minnesota because the state has no supermax facility. Bachmann's fear is irrational. Bachmann never let a silly thing, such as logic, interfere with lawmaking.

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Keith Olbermann on Dick Cheney.

"Political language -- and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists -- is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

George Orwell

Keith Olbermann comments on Dick Cheney's Politico interview. To the surprise of no one -- Cheney plays the fear card.

"I think there are some who probably actually believe that if we just go talk nice to these folks, everything’s going to be okay," Cheney, claiming Democrats only want to talk to Democrats. This is such bullshit. Cheney is more concerned with his legacy and partisanship than protecting America from terrorism. 'Til this day, pulling troops out of Afghanistan to invade Iraq wasn't about terrorism. Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein hated each other. Hussein never had weapons of mass destruction. Cheney once again uses the WMD argument.

Cheney said “the ultimate threat to the country” is “a 9/11-type event where the terrorists are armed with something much more dangerous than an airline ticket and a box cutter – a nuclear weapon or a biological agent of some kind” that is deployed in the middle of an American city.

“That’s the one that would involve the deaths of perhaps hundreds of thousands of people, and the one you have to spend a hell of a lot of time guarding against,” he said.

“I think there’s a high probability of such an attempt. Whether or not they can pull it off depends whether or not we keep in place policies that have allowed us to defeat all further attempts, since 9/11, to launch mass-casualty attacks against the United States.”

Cheney believes Gitmo was essential to national security. Many detainees were sold by tribal chiefs for cash. The administration did a shoddy job with record-keeping. The White House didn't know who they had. Cheney's logic is we waterboard everybody coming through Gitmo. Regarless, if we know they are terrorists. If Cheney more more imaginative, he would have called Gitmo the Ministry of Love.

Republicans on the Closing of Gitmo

Peter Hoekstra: "... places hope ahead of reality — it sets an objective without a plan to get there."

Tom Price: "Closing the facility without a plan in place to replicate those functions is irresponsible."

Kit Bond: "Well, I think it's irresponsible to say you're gonna close Gitmo without having a plan."

The Repubicans have a plan. They will will the war on terror with talking points. The conservative talking point was President Barack Obama would back out of closing Gitmo. The new talking point is Obama doesn't have a plan.

The RNC foolishly spreaded the meme that Obama wouldn't close Gitmo. Obama repeatedly promised to close Gitmo. It was no shock that Obama signed the executive orders ending the nightname that is Gitmo. The RNC needs new political strategists or to hire Nostradamus. It is amazing GOP operatives misread Obama being anti-torture.

Gitmo Executive Orders

President Barack Obama will issue three executive orders tomorrow. The oders deal with the closing of Guantanamo Bay.

∙ close the detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay within a year and establish a process by which the U.S. government figures out what to do with the remaining detainees;

∙ establish new rules on interrogation methods moving forward;

∙ establish new guidelines for the treatment of detainees moving forward.

Obama is halting military tribunals for 120 days. A Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 53 percent of Americans favor closing Gitmo. Republicans overwhelming wish to keep to facility open.

The tribunals have been unsuccessful at convicting suspected terrorists. Charges were dropped against Mohammad al-Qahtani. The evidence was gained through torture and ruled inadmissible. (al-Qahtani was later recharged.) Muhammed Dawood was given nine months. Hundreds of detainees were released. The Bush administration was too incompetent to be tough on terrorism.

Quote of the Day

"But I want to assure the American people, Guantanamo will be closed."

Eric Holder, Attorney General nominee.

Gitmo to Close

Remember this gem from Glenn Reynolds yesterday.

OBAMA IS BACKTRACKING ON CLOSING GUANTANAMO BAY any time soon. Apparently he’s concluded that it’s not as easy as it sounded back during the campaign.

The Associated Press reports President-elect Barack Obama will close Guantanamo Bay the first week of his administration. Obama will use an executive order to issue the closing of the detainee facility.

My take continues to be Obama is committed to closing Guantanamo Bay. Obama sees Gitmo as a political and civil liberties disaster. Sec. of Defense Robert Gates lobbied to close Gitmo since 2007. Gates has a President-elect that will allow him to implement his policy.

Glenn Greenwald is upset Obama isn't closing Guantanamo Bay the first day of the administration.

As Talk Left's Jeralyn Merritt documents, Obama today rather clearly stated that he will not close Guantanamo in the first 100 days of his presidency. He recited the standard Jack Goldsmith/Brookings Institution condescending excuse that closing Guantanamo is "more difficult than people realize." Specifically, Obama argued, we cannot release detainees whom we're unable to convict in a court of law because the evidence against them is "tainted" as a result of our having tortured them, and therefore need some new system -- most likely a so-called new "national security court" -- that "relaxes" due process safeguards so that we can continue to imprison people indefinitely even though we're unable to obtain an actual conviction in an actual court of law.

There is no question many innocent men were sold to the CIA by Afghan tribal lords and Pakistani officials. Corrupt men sold other men to the CIA for quick cash. That doesn't mean Gitmo doesn't have dangerous terrorists. Obama can't release these men. Prosecution is difficult because of confessions given under torture. Greenwald too easy dismisses the dilemma facing Obama.

Greenwald knows Obama appointed Dawn Johnsen to the Office of Legal Counsel. Greenwald called the appointment "may be Obama's best yet." Johnsen wrote a Slate op-ed condemning the OLC authorizing the White House to use torture in interrogations.

I want to second Dahlia's frustration with those who don't see the newly released Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) torture memo as a big deal. Where is the outrage, the public outcry?! The shockingly flawed content of this memo, the deficient processes that led to its issuance, the horrific acts it encouraged, the fact that it was kept secret for years and that the Bush administration continues to withhold other memos like it--all demand our outrage.

Obama is surrounding himself with people against torture. What Greenwald and Jeralyn Merritt want Obama to be confrontational. That is not Obama's style. Obama will never be John Conyers or Howard Dean. Obama will use popularism to pass his agenda. That is how he got elected. That is how he will govern and it will drive progressives crazy.

Great Moments In Conservative Punditry: Glenn Reynolds Gitmo Edition

Glenn Reynolds makes the bold statement that Barack Obama will not closing down Guantanamo Bay.

OBAMA IS BACKTRACKING ON CLOSING GUANTANAMO BAY any time soon. Apparently he’s concluded that it’s not as easy as it sounded back during the campaign.

Reynolds muckracking evidence is conservative blogger JammieWearingFool. Besides proving that conservative bloggers give themselves the worst nicknames (see: Hindrocket), the ABC News article JammieWearingFool defeats the thesis of his post. Obama told George Stephanopoulos he intends to close Guantanamo Bay.

But Obama said unequivocally that it will close. "I don't want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution. That is not only the right thing to do but it actually has to be part of our broader national security strategy because we will send a message to the world that we are serious about our values."

The only hold up is the legal matter of how to prosecute dangerous terrorists. Obama said the Bush policies have "tainted" the evidence against many detainees. The Obama administration has no intention of putting terrorists back on the streets. The Obama legal team is trying to figure out how to makes cases against terrorists. The Bush administration torture policies have severely hampered the possibility of prosecution.

The torture policies is why Bush put detainees on Cuban soil. Bush's hope was Guantanamo Bay would out ruled out of United States jurisdiction. The Supreme Court decision Rasul v. Bush ruled detainees could bring legal action challenging is United States courts.

JammieWearingFool wrote this missive, in all his keyboard warrior fury.

Speaking of the angry left, they're upset Bush won't be put on trial for war crimes.

Apparently, JammieWearingFool didn't read the ABC News article he linked to.

Obama said that he is not ruling out prosecution for crimes committed by the Bush administration and left open the possibility of appointing a special prosecutor or commission to independently investigate abuses of power and illegal activity.

I don't read any of this as backtracking from Obama. The President-elect likes to stay above the fray. Obama is trying to pass his agenda and doesn't want to get bogged down on if he will prosecute members of the Bush administration. Two things are clear. Obama refused to rule out prosecution against the Bush administration. (That surprised me.) The second matter is Obama stating: "I don't want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo..." Obama could not be any more blatant.

I doubt Reynolds actually read the ABC News article. Reynolds links and keeps the Blogads revenue going. InstaCash for InstaPundit.

Alberto Gonzales Hearts Guantánamo Bay

Robert Gates argued to President Bush that Guantánamo Bay was hurting the United State's in the war on terrorism and the military tribunal trials would be viewed as illegal. The Geneva Convention hater quickly nixed that idea.

Mr. Gates’s arguments were rejected after Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and some other government lawyers expressed strong objections to moving detainees to the United States, a stance that was backed by the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, administration officials said.

There is still a (small) chance Guantánamo Bay will be closed. It all hinged on Gonzo's future.

“Let’s see what happens to Gonzales,” that official said, referring to speculation that Mr. Gonzales will be forced to step down, or at least is significantly weakened, because of the political uproar over the dismissal of United States attorneys. “I suspect this one isn’t over yet.”

The continues policy of torture and suspension of habeas corpus biggest backer is Gonzales. Forget him resigning. Gonzo needs to be disbarred.