Surprise, surprise, surprise!  Our boy Barry has taken a second look at the system of military courts being used to try detainees at Gitmo and is reconsidering his campaign promise of abolishing them.  

From the NewYorkTimes(?):

The Obama administration is moving toward reviving the military commission system for prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, which was a target of critics during the Bush administration, including Mr. Obama himself…

Continuing the military commissions in any form would probably prompt sharp criticism from human rights groups as well as some of Mr. Obama’s political allies because the troubled system became an emblem of the effort to use Guantánamo to avoid the American legal system.

Looks like Obama wins again – he pisses off both sides.  The wishy-washy Left will be none to pleased with this development while those on the Right will wonder why some qualify for military courts while others get a free ride.  I guess they’re hoping that by saying they will “revise the Bush policy”, it will quell discontent while giving them mileage with the anti-Bush  message.  Once again, the Admin puts the spotlight on its amateur hour, speak before you think, way of doing business.  

Did it occur to anyone else but me that maybe now that they’ve had their hands on the intelligence files on the detainees, they’ve come to the realization that some of them might just be “bad guys”?  I love how the article repeats the January 20th date over and over again – leaving them the classic out of how could The One possibly have known how dangerous these guys were and what was the best way to handle their cases.  Um, isn’t he a lawyer?  And isn’t he the Prez – shouldn’t he be able to make a decision  and stick to it by now? Sheesh, he’s had 100+ days.

It is a double-edged sword, though.   Apparently the Admin is now realizing the foolishness of it’s position that those terrorists that were treated badly are entitled to be set free, as in “they’ve done their time”.  All of a sudden, now that the safety of Americans is on the line, along with the ability to ensure that safety, they’re a bit concerned about all those Liberal judges with which they have filled the courts.  Hmmmm, food for thought, no?

Officials who work on the Guantánamo issue say administration lawyers have become concerned that they would face significant obstacles to trying some terrorism suspects in federal courts. Judges might make it difficult to prosecute detainees who were subjected to brutal treatment or for prosecutors to use hearsay evidence gathered by intelligence agencies.

In a news conference this week, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. emphasized that if the administration did use military commissions, the rules must give detainees “a maximum amount of due process.”

But, speaking of detainees whom American officials have accused of involvement in major terrorist plots, Mr. Holder added, “It may be difficult for some of those high-value detainees to be tried in a normal federal court.”

So, as much as I want to believe this is a win-win, I see it as more of a lose-lose.  We may very well get our Military Commissions but by the time the Obama Admin along with the ACLU can come to an agreement of how to do it, the impact will be so watered down, it won’t matter.  And it means the “did we or did we not torture” issue will remain front and center for a long time – something Obama gets a lot of mileage out of. Ugh.  Still, it’s fun to watch the Left get all hot and bothered over something they will never understand.  Maybe if Obama was just honest and told them these are bad guys – that there are, in fact, bad guys and we need to be protected from them – they’d go easier on him. But he needs his base, especially considering how the rest of us are feeling about his “leadership” these days.

More analysis at HotAir

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