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May 01, 2009
A Must Read~ Andrew McCarthy's Letter to Attorney General Holder
Andrew McCarthy's Letter to Attorney General Holder
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General of the United States
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Holder:
This letter is respectfully submitted to inform you that I must decline the invitation to participate in the May 4 roundtable meeting the President’s Task Force on Detention Policy is convening with current and former prosecutors involved in international terrorism cases. An invitation was extended to me by trial lawyers from the Counterterrorism Section, who are members of the Task Force, which you are leading.
The invitation email (of April 14) indicates that the meeting is part of an ongoing effort to identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants -- or what the Department now calls “individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.” I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear -- most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany -- that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.
Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government.
Beyond that, as elucidated in my writing (including my proposal for a new national security court, which I understand the Task Force has perused), I believe alien enemy combatants should be detained at Guantanamo Bay (or a facility like it) until the conclusion of hostilities. This national defense measure is deeply rooted in the venerable laws of war and was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 2004 Hamdi case. Yet, as recently as Wednesday, you asserted that, in your considered judgment, such notions violate America’s “commitment to the rule of law.” Indeed, you elaborated, “Nothing symbolizes our [administration’s] new course more than our decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay…. President Obama believes, and I strongly agree, that Guantanamo has come to represent a time and an approach that we want to put behind us: a disregard for our centuries-long respect for the rule of law[.]” (Emphasis added.)
Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself.
For what it may be worth, I will say this much. For eight years, we have had a robust debate in the United States about how to handle alien terrorists captured during a defensive war authorized by Congress after nearly 3000 of our fellow Americans were annihilated. Essentially, there have been two camps. One calls for prosecution in the civilian criminal justice system, the strategy used throughout the 1990s. The other calls for a military justice approach of combatant detention and war-crimes prosecutions by military commission. Because each theory has its downsides, many commentators, myself included, have proposed a third way: a hybrid system, designed for the realities of modern international terrorism—a new system that would address the needs to protect our classified defense secrets and to assure Americans, as well as our allies, that we are detaining the right people.
There are differences in these various proposals. But their proponents, and adherents to both the military and civilian justice approaches, have all agreed on at least one thing: Foreign terrorists trained to execute mass-murder attacks cannot simply be released while the war ensues and Americans are still being targeted. We have already released too many jihadists who, as night follows day, have resumed plotting to kill Americans. Indeed, according to recent reports, a released Guantanamo detainee is now leading Taliban combat operations in Afghanistan, where President Obama has just sent additional American forces.
The Obama campaign smeared Guantanamo Bay as a human rights blight. Consistent with that hyperbolic rhetoric, the President began his administration by promising to close the detention camp within a year. The President did this even though he and you (a) agree Gitmo is a top-flight prison facility, (b) acknowledge that our nation is still at war, and (c) concede that many Gitmo detainees are extremely dangerous terrorists who cannot be tried under civilian court rules. Patently, the commitment to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was made without a plan for what to do with these detainees who cannot be tried. Consequently, the Detention Policy Task Force is not an effort to arrive at the best policy. It is an effort to justify a bad policy that has already been adopted: to wit, the Obama administration policy to release trained terrorists outright if that’s what it takes to close Gitmo by January.
Obviously, I am powerless to stop the administration from releasing top al Qaeda operatives who planned mass-murder attacks against American cities—like Binyam Mohammed (the accomplice of “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla) whom the administration recently transferred to Britain, where he is now at liberty and living on public assistance. I am similarly powerless to stop the administration from admitting into the United States such alien jihadists as the 17 remaining Uighur detainees. According to National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, the Uighurs will apparently live freely, on American taxpayer assistance, despite the facts that they are affiliated with a terrorist organization and have received terrorist paramilitary training. Under federal immigration law (the 2005 REAL ID Act), those facts render them excludable from theUnited States. The Uighurs’ impending release is thus a remarkable development given the Obama administration’s propensity to deride its predecessor’s purported insensitivity to the rule of law.
I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade.
Finally, let me repeat that I respect and admire the dedication of Justice Department lawyers, whom I have tirelessly defended since I retired in 2003 as a chief assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. It was a unique honor to serve for nearly twenty years as a federal prosecutor, under administrations of both parties. It was as proud a day as I have ever had when the trial team I led was awarded the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award in 1996, after we secured the convictions of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and his underlings for waging a terrorist war against the United States. I particularly appreciated receiving the award from Attorney General Reno—as I recounted in Willful Blindness, my book about the case, without her steadfastness against opposition from short-sighted government officials who wanted to release him, the “blind sheikh” would never have been indicted, much less convicted and so deservedly sentenced to life-imprisonment. In any event, I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option.
Very truly yours,
ISI
Andrew C. McCarthy
cc: Sylvia T. Kaser and John DePue
National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section
.
He has defended the practice of waterboarding as not necessarily being torture in some situations to prosecute the War on Terror whilst admitting that "waterboarding is close enough to torture that reasonable minds can differ on whether it is torture".
During the 2008 Presidential election campaign, Andrew McCarthy has written a number of posts on the National Review's Corner stating that he thinks that the Democratic Presidential candidate is not serious about protecting U.S. national security against threats from radical Islam and elsewhere, and that Obama has a number of troubling ties and associations with leftist radicals.
In an opinion posted on the blog 'the Corner' on 10/22/08 Mr. McCarthy wrote "I believe that the issue of Obama's personal radicalism, including his collaboration with radical, America-hating Leftists, should have been disqualifying."
Wild Thing's comment...... This IS chilling....I heard Rush read this letter and it gave me goosebumps. To hear someone speak up to Obama and Holden like this is no less then awesome. "he Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. . . . I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. " "I am similarly powerless to stop the administration from admitting into the United States such alien jihadists as the 17 remaining Uighur detainees. According to National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, the Uighurs will apparently live freely, on American taxpayer assistance, despite the facts that they are affiliated with a terrorist organization and have received terrorist paramilitary training. Under federal immigration law (the 2005 REAL ID Act), those facts render them excludable from the United States. The Uighurs’ impending release is thus a remarkable development given the Obama administration’s propensity to deride its predecessor’s purported insensitivity to the rule of law. I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade" Posted by Wild Thing at May 1, 2009 05:55 PM
Thank you for posting. I am going to set up some polls and will include this issue. WTF is wrong with sending the Chinese enemy combatants back to China where I am sure they will receive an appropriate welcome. I will let you know when I have this in place, Posted by: Bob A at May 1, 2009 06:33 PM
Excellent article Chrissie, I copied the test and E-mailed it to some of my redneck buddies. Posted by: Jack at May 1, 2009 07:33 PM
It used to be one bad apple would spoil the bushel. Now with so many rotten apples it is tough to tell if there are any good one in the basket. One oozes slime onto the others. Evil begets evil and we got a peck of evil. Now it will be interesting to see how long before the media starts to demean and belittle Andrew McCarthy and destroy him in the press. Afterall he had the gall to tell Berry he is dead wrong and his policies are a detriment to the National Security of America. But Berry is too busy spending Tax Payers money on his wifes $540 dollar sneakers. Posted by: Mark at May 1, 2009 07:37 PM
Gee, that guy's picture should be in the dictionary next to the definition of "principled." I'm proud he told the Obamanites to take a leap. Posted by: Billy Ray at May 1, 2009 08:49 PM
I have polls set up. Each poll will be on it's individual post but on a page on my domain with all of the polls available. Not the most professional page but will work until I can refine it. Posted by: Bob A at May 1, 2009 10:09 PM
An attorney who gets it. McCarthy's letter should be on the op-ed of every paper in America. Jack is probably right when he states that lots of people don't want to work for Obama knowing how big that bus is that he throws people under. Posted by: TomR at May 1, 2009 10:45 PM
Bob A., thank you, that is a neat idea Posted by: Wild Thing at May 2, 2009 12:07 AM
Jack, thank you, this is just so good. Posted by: Wild Thing at May 2, 2009 12:09 AM
Mark, I agree, I sure hope Andrew has Posted by: Wild Thing at May 2, 2009 12:12 AM
Billy Ray, great way to put it, Posted by: Wild Thing at May 2, 2009 12:14 AM
Bob A., thank you I am heading to your blog Posted by: Wild Thing at May 2, 2009 12:15 AM
Wild Thing - Such a great letter and post above the evil creeps' mag photo post!! The truth will shine!! Posted by: jan at May 2, 2009 06:59 AM
Outstanding. Both the letter, and your closing comments. Posted by: cmblake6 at May 2, 2009 11:22 AM
What a tremendous writer. I am so glad I didn't vote for the current administration. If I had, how could I sleep at night? I certainly hope they American people wake up before it's too late. I certainly hate to see the erosion of our rights and the damage that may occur over the next 630 days. Lord Jesus, help us all. Posted by: Esteban at May 5, 2009 05:31 PM
"Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself. "
For me this letter was the best thing I have read for years. He gets right to the point and tells exactly how it is with Obama and his agenda. The dangers, the distrust, the threat to America, so many things.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Comments
Bob A.
This is even more telling into the reasons Obama can't fill some of his cabinet level positions, nobody wants to be the scapegoat when all this crashes.
Apparently Obama's love for the muzzies is held above his sworn oath of office, uh, which one?
Bob A.
what you are doing.
protection too. I know that sounds wild
to say that, but it just crossed my mind.
right now.
