Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Obama on Detainees

The President has done a couple of things on the “detainee” issue that I perceive as serving this nation’s interest. He really should have done them much sooner, but let’s just be happy that he’s doing them now.

He is releasing the names of those being held in our detention camps to the International Red Cross. That we have not been doing this all along is despicable, since it is required under international law. Unless, that is, you are one of those who consider the Geneva Conventions to be “quaint.”

He has also formed a new organization to control the interrogation of “high value detainees.” This group will be reporting to the head of the FBI.

It is my admittedly uninformed opinion that far too much emphasis is placed on this “interrogation of high value detainee” business, and that we should be more focused on infiltrating active planning cells and measuring ongoing terror group activity. If, however, we must be doing it then I am glad that it is the FBI and not the CIA that is the reporting agency. The FBI is certainly not staffed by a bunch of flower children, but it has a far better track record of responsibility and ability to stay within guidelines than does the CIA.

The choice of John Brennan to head the new group is an unfortunate one, however, and this continues Obama’s habit of hiring foxes to staff the hen house. Brennan withdrew as Obama’s potential CIA Director nominee because of his position in the Bush counterterrorism machinery and his staunch support of “harsh interrogation methods.” So, right in the middle of a storm of controversy over CIA interrogation techniques, Obama names him head of the new interrogation agency.

Sometimes I'm nor sure whether Obama is incomprehensibly brilliant, or if he's just dumb as a post.

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