May 3, 2013, Dep't of hand wringing
Benjamin Wittes at the Lawfare Blog gives us this piece noting the perplexing nature of the President's recent press conference comments on Guantanamo and indefinite detention. In this piece, Wittes notes his unusual meeting of minds with Glenn Greenwald on this matter.
In short, the President, whose own policies mesh well with Wittes's general view (which diverges from that of Greenwald.. and myself...) that there are circumstances where GTMO-style indefinite detention is appropriate policy, nonetheless asserts liberal sounding claptrap to the effect that somehow he [Obama] himself disagrees with these policies (and by implication its that mean old Congress that's tying his hands on this) when, in fact, he [Obama] is clearly the driver of these policies. In a matter of a few pen strokes, Barack Obama can largely empty Guantanamo and send most of its occupants to their home countries. If he actually believed the claptrap he's telling us, of course.
The reader is welcome to decide whether (Nobel Peace Prize winner) Obama's hypocrisy and duplicity (on this issue, among others) is worse than his war crimes (e.g., aiding and abetting and promoting torture and torturers, commencing and escalating unilateral war on nations posing no threat of any kind, targeted murder via drone and otherwise, etc....) but at some point, it would be nice if [my fellow?] alleged "progressives" would kindly acknowledge their own state of denial viz my college classmate Barry from Hawaii as to what he is: a rather effective proponent of policies we supposedly don't like when they are being advocated and implemented by Republicans.
Just saying. [Not that this petition to close GTMO will change the President's mind, but it might give you a moment of satisfaction, as it did for me (and you'll get a nice thank you e-mail from our friend Morris Davis.)]