Jihadis Of The World, Welcome To The Land Of Lincoln!

In an utterly stupid move that is nothing more than a sop to Obama's main constituent groups, US liberals and the adoring billions around the world, the administration is officially moving some of the Gitmo detainees to a soon to be upgraded prison in Illinois.

Dozens of terrorism suspects being held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be moved to a little-used Illinois state prison that will be acquired and upgraded by the federal government, an Obama administration official said.

The critical step toward fulfilling President Obama's pledge to shut the Guantanamo detention center will be announced Tuesday, said the official, who reported that Obama has ordered the acquisition of the eight-year-old Thomson Correctional Center, about 150 miles northwest of Chicago.

Obama made the move despite the objections of Republicans in Congress and in Illinois, where critics say the transfer of prisoners -- some for indefinite detention, some for trial -- could make the state a target for terrorists. Rep. Mark Kirk has called the move "an unnecessary risk."

...(Illinois Senator Dick) Durbin estimated that the move from Guantanamo could create as many as 3,000 jobs.

National Review has a scathing editorial which lays out the case that this move will almost certainly lead to a terrorist being released onto the streets of America.

Though the nation’s attention has been focused on the administration’s absurd decision to grant the 9/11 plotters a trial in the civilian justice system, the fact is that many, if not most, of the remaining Gitmo detainees will not face a trial of any kind. They are being held under the laws of war, which permit the detention of enemy operatives until the conclusion of hostilities. The threat they pose is terrible, but it is known to us mostly through foreign intelligence that may not be used in trial proceedings.

This was not a problem in America’s prior wars. Handling enemy prisoners was properly considered a military matter. In this war, activist judges urged on by left-wing lawyers have taken on an oversight role: the power, codified by Congress in the 2005 Detainee Treatment Act, to review the legitimacy of military detention. Many civilian judges are fundamentally hostile to the concept of indefinite detention under wartime protocols that do not require proof of a crime. With no political accountability to the voters whose lives are at stake, and no guidance from Congress regarding the rules for these detention proceedings, judges have made abominable rulings, vacating the combatant designations of detainees who were trained in terror camps and clearly connected to the jihadist network.

So far, these rulings have not resulted in detainees’ being released in the United States. But that is only because, at present, the detainees are physically kept outside of the country. In the 2005 Real ID Act, Congress barred aliens who either have been members of terrorist organizations or have received paramilitary training in terrorist camps from entering our nation. Though one judge has tried to order detainees released here regardless, his order was reversed on appeal. Other judges have been hesitant to hold that their power to review detention rulings implies a power to order detainees released, much less released in the United States, in defiance of statutory proscription.

Lawfare Fever, Catch It!

This is nothing but a PR move. There's absolutely no reason to do this. The left can go on all it wants about "Gitmo hurts our image" abroad. Well, to the extent it does, it's because of their lies and distortions about what was going on there and the history of how America and every other country has handled these hostis humani generis.

Obama will undoubtedly talk about how this move will impress the world community and serve as evidence America is once again living up to its ideals.
We've been down this road of pretending foreign jihadis are like car jackers. We did it after the first World Trade Center attack. The fact that there was a second attack shows how impressed the 'world' and the terrorists were.
Personally, I was unaware of any American value that required us to treat war criminals as common criminals but maybe that's just me. Certainly neither Lincoln, who Obama will no doubt invoke, nor the liberal God FDR were under this kind of illusion.

America will be less safe under this scheme but Obama will get to pander to his liberal base and 'save or create' jobs. At least there's no doubt what His priorities are.

posted by Ace at 10:57 AM

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