Surprise, Surprise! The Obama Administration is set to reinstate Military Commissions as a way to prosecute terrorism suspects. According to the Washington Post, the administration will propose changes that will grant the terrorists greater legal protections. This system was heavily criticized by the Democrats and members of the mainstream media for most of the presidential campaign. "By any measure, our system of trying detainees has been an enormous failure," then-candidate Barack Obama said in June 2008. This hypocrisy stinks to high heaven and I can't wait to see how the media spins this story.
From the Washington Post:
In one of its first acts, the Obama administration obtained a 120-day
suspension of the military commissions; that will expire May 20. Human
rights groups had interpreted the suspension as the death knell for
military commissions and expected the transfer of cases to military
courts martial or federal courts.
Officials said yesterday that the Obama administration will seek a
90-day extension of the suspension as early as next week. It would
subsequently restart the commissions on American soil, probably at
military bases, according to a lawyer briefed on the plan.
The Obama administration's plan to reinstate the commissions with
modifications reflects the fear that some cases would fail in federal
courts or in standard military legal settings.
"It looks a lot more difficult now than it did on Jan. 20," said one government official.
Civil liberties advocates, who insist that federal courts can handle terrorism cases, vowed to challenge any new process.
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