President Obama, Terrorists and Federal Courts

Dear Friends,

President Obama is considering reversing the decision to try 9-11 terrorist suspects in Federal Court which he promised as candidate Obama.  See the Washington Post article entitled "Obama advisors set to recomment military tribunals for alleged 9/11 plotters" (here) which was published earlier today.  The first paragraph of the article says it all:

President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal, administration officials said, a step that would reverse Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s plan to try him in civilian court in New York City

The Wall Street Journal just published an article entitled, "Obama Leans Toward Switch to Military Trials on 9/11" (here).  The first few paragraphs read:

The Obama administration now favors trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged Sept. 11, 2001, plotters in a military tribunal, officials said, yielding to opposition from Congress and local governments that was stymieing the Justice Department's plans for a civilian trial.

Members of Congress have moved to cut off funds for a civilian trial, while local governments have expressed reluctance to play host to such a trial. No decision has been reached, and a White House official said President Barack Obama wouldn't make his announcement for weeks as a review continues.

A reversal on the 9/11 trial would represent the latest backtracking on an issue that has bedeviled the Obama administration from nearly the outset. In his campaign, Mr. Obama asserted that Bush administration detention policies had damaged America's standing in the world. Two days after taking office, Mr. Obama signed an order pledging to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, where Mr. Mohammed is held, within a year.

President Obama claims to be a person of principle, but I fail to see where principle is entering into this decision.  Once again, President Obama is giving up on the principles that enticed us to support and vote for him in favor of some idea about bipartisanship.  It is unbelievable that someone as smart as President Obama has not learned by now that the Republicans will not do anything that he supports and will oppose anything that he is for.  The article continues to outline what is going on in the background.

The movement toward a military tribunal is still a gamble. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been negotiating with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) to win his support for a 9/11 trial before a revamped military commission that would be more open and offer defendants more rights than the Bush administration had wanted, Mr. Graham and administration officials said.
In exchange, the White House hopes Mr. Graham will help win bipartisan support for the purchase of a nearly empty prison in Thomson, Ill., which would be converted to a federal "supermax" facility, with a military court administered by the Defense Department.
Cutting a deal with Mr. Graham not only would move a distracting political issue aside but could pay dividends down the road. Mr. Graham is involved in bipartisan negotiations on climate change and immigration as well.

Why am I not surprised that Rahm Emanuel is involved in this totally unprincipled move by the Obama Administration?  It is particularly appalling that it is being done in the desperate attempt to get some Republican support for something.

If President Obama and Rahm Emanuel think that cutting an unprincipled deal with Senator Graham will get rid of a distracting political issue, it is up to us to be sure that they know that they will create an even more distracting political issue if they backtrack on this important promise that candidate Obama made.

Please go to the ACLU website (here) to let President Obama know that moving back to military tribunals is unacceptable.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal