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June 28, 2009
Obama Drafts Executive Order to Detain Terrorists Indefinitely Without Trial
Obama drafts executive order to detain terrorists indefinitely without trial
Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war.
Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said…
Some of Obama’s top legal advisers, along with a handful of influential Republican and Democratic lawmakers, have pushed for the creation of a “national security court” to supervise the incarceration of detainees deemed too dangerous to release but who cannot be charged or tried.
But the three senior government officials said the White House has turned away from that option, at least for now, because legislation establishing a special court would be both difficult to pass and likely to fracture Obama’s own party…
“Legislation could kill Obama’s plans,” said one government official involved. The official said an executive order could be the best option for the president at this juncture. Under one White House draft that was being discussed earlier this month, according to administration officials, detainees would be imprisoned at a military facility on U.S. soil but their ongoing detention would be subject to annual presidential review. U.S. citizens would not be held in the system…
One administration official said future transfers to the United States for long-term detention would be rare. Al-Qaeda operatives captured on the battlefield, which the official defined as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and possibly the Horn of Africa, would be held in battlefield facilities.
Another Broken Obama Promise
Obama may hold detainees indefinitely
Faced with a gloomy outlook for new congressional authority to detain terror suspects, the Obama administration appears to be considering issuing an executive order to govern the indefinite imprisonment of alleged Al Qaeda operatives, analysts said.
The focus on a unilateral action by President Barack Obama reflects a political dynamic on Capitol Hill that may render legislation on long-term detention unattainable.
On Friday, White House spokesman Ben LaBolt denied a published report that a possible executive order had been drafted
In a joint report published Friday, The Washington Post and a nonprofit investigative journalism group, ProPublica, said three unnamed senior government officials confirmed to them that such an order is being drafted (a step back from when the report was first published, at which point it said the order had already been drafted). The outlets also said some officials were now concerned that Obama would not meet the deadline he set to close Guantanamo by next January.
Obama could act unilaterally to set up a new military review system abroad at U.S. bases in Afghanistan or other countries. But it's unclear how different that would be from a Bush-era invention, Combatant Status Review Tribunals, which were widely criticized for lacking due process.
Wild Thing's comment......
Obama could act unilaterally to set up a new military review system abroad at U.S. bases in Afghanistan or other countries. But it's unclear how different that would be from a Bush-era invention, Combatant Status Review Tribunals, which were widely criticized for lacking due process.
Simple. That was Bush. This is Obama. HUGE difference!!!
"Another Broken Obama Promise"
LOL well I will be fair here Obama did keep ONE of his promises.......He told Joe the Plumber we needed to spread the wealth. He sure as heck has done that and a ton of those promises about destroying America he has kept too. Putting Muslims in his administration would be another one.
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....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
Posted by Wild Thing at June 28, 2009 05:49 AM
Comments
Now if he would only break his promise on closing GITMO.
Posted by: Bob A at June 28, 2009 09:58 AM
I think some reality hit obama in the face.
Posted by: TomR at June 28, 2009 12:42 PM
I agree BobA and Tom.
Will this 'executive order' also usurp the UCMJ and the 4th Amendment and suspend The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878?
Just remember our classification under Comrade Napolitano, he'd rather silence us than his muzzy kin.
I'm also reminded that Obama and General Dreedle have a lot fawning followers in common, you just have to have the right bait.
Posted by: Jack at June 28, 2009 01:55 PM
Bob A., yes that one too he can break
that would be a really good one not
to keep.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 29, 2009 12:06 AM
Tom, I think so too.
He never should have made the announcement
without having a plan in place ahead of
time.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 29, 2009 12:10 AM
Jack..."he'd rather silence us than his
muzzy kin."
That is exactly what he wants.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 29, 2009 12:12 AM
