Admittedly it has been a long learning curve, but President Obama has made a very wise decision--both for the American people and for the safety of the world.
The Hill reported today that the Obama Administration has announced that trials by military commission will resume at Guantánamo Bay.
The article reports:
"In a fact sheet, the White House said Obama "remains committed" to closing the facility, but the president's decision to lift the ban on military commissions signals the unlikelihood that Obama will successfully transfer all of the prisoners in Cuba."
Guantanamo Bay represents a unique legal problem. Because it is not on United States soil, the prisoners cannot claim all the rights that they would receive in a civilian court in America. One of the things that makes these trials nearly impossible in civil courts in America are the disclosure of evidence rules. In trying terrorists in American civilian courts with full American citizen's rights, we would have to show where and how we got the information to convict them. In some cases it would mean disclosing wiretap information or other classified information gathering tools. Because we are still engaged in a war on terror, this is not a wise move.
Military tribunals are equipped to handle the problems that arise with imprisoned terrorists. These terrorists themselves are a problem. The New York Times reported in May of 2009 that one in seven freed Guantanamo detainees have returned to terrorism. Many have returned to terrorism after having completed the Saudi rehabilitation program.
I have no idea what the answer is. I don't like the idea of the death penalty, but what else do you do with the man who planned the September 11th attack? I don't like the idea of keeping people away from their homeland and whatever families they may have for the rest of their lives, but I don't want to release someone who is simply going home to fight Americans or kill civilians.
There really isn't a nice, clear-cut answer to what to do with terrorists, and Guantanamo and military tribunals seems to be the most practical. I am glad that the President has chosen that path.
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