Some are calling this a flip flop. Jake Tapper twittered yesterday that he'd call it a flip flop if it was but it's not. He wrote that today:
As a senator and presidential candidate, Obama supported legislation on military tribunals but was highly critical of the type of military commissions supported by the Bush administration, although he never said outright that they should be ended.
A White House official says that the president has "always envisioned a role for commissions, properly constituted."
But the left is calling it a flip flopping because they disagree with Obama. They're also comparing him to Bush, which is ludicrous.
Obama's position on reinstating military tribunals was lauded by some Republicans in Congress, but human rights groups -- some of whom are already outraged at the president's decision to fight the release of detainee abuse photos -- are complaining that the administration's move resonates of Bush's era and offers more of the same.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent out an angry statement Friday, calling the decision a "striking blow to due process and the rule of law."
"Tweaking the rules of these failed tribunals so that they provide 'more due process' is absurd; there is no such thing as 'due process light,'" the statement said. "Despite the administration's efforts to improve the system, the only explanation for reviving it would be to accommodate the damage that has already been done by the Bush administration's policies of torture, illegal detention and denial of fair trials. ... In this case, President Obama would do well to remember his own infamous words during his presidential campaign: you can't put lipstick on a pig."
The White House today tried to separate its policies from those of its predecessor.
"I don't think this is a system that works in any way, shape or form for the American people," Gibbs said, referring to military commissions supported by the Bush administration. "This notion that, somehow, the law is the same under the protections that the president is entering into ... the notion that this is the same vehicle is simply ... not true."
Some democrats are pleased:
Some in the Democratic Party also were optimistic about the changes to military commissions.
"I have always said that establishing appropriate military commissions is possible," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said in a statement. "I objected to the military commissions that were created by the Bush-Cheney administration because they stripped away critical protections in our laws. I look forward to reviewing the Obama administration's proposals for providing a fair system of military commissions."
Senators are holding on to $50 million to shut down the base at Guantanamo Bay, contingent on a plan for detainees. The money will be discussed next week when senators consider a $91 billion war funding bill.
