Obama Defends Gitmo Balancing Act, Promising Security, Legitimacy, Transparency, Durability

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Christine Bowman

"Can you hear me now?"

In essence, that's the somewhat testy message President Barack Obama delivered Thursday morning to critics on all sides as he reiterated his reasons and outlined details for his plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, or Gitmo, where terrorism suspects have been detained by the U.S. government since 2002. The President revealed that 50 detainees currently have been cleared to be turned over to other countries, and he addressed more broadly the hot-button issues of providing both security and transparency.

In typical style, the President's message was comforting, calm and deliberate, but not without punch. Time and again, he drew contrasts between Bush-era approaches to handling terrorism detainees and his own. Following on the heels of yesterday's overwhelming vote by Congress to strip funds for closing the Gitmo prison from a military funding bill, he needed to assuage doubts about his commitment to changing the government's approach, and he gave details to put some flesh on the bones of his Gitmo closing plan in order to build support for it. He charged that "the recent debate has obscured the truth" and said, "The American people are not absolutist, and they don't elect us to impose a rigid ideology on our problems."

The President reviewed ways he has changed the country's approach to terrorism (by banning "enhanced interrogation," planning the Gitmo closure, and ordering a review of all pending cases); spelled out principles that have guided his decisions; pointed out problems with a range of Bush Administration actions and noted the residue of unsolved problems their choices left; listed five categories of detainee cases and five distinct ways for dealing with them; and reiterated his faith in existing legal structures for ensuring accountability.

He called the current detainee program "an unsustainable status quo" and added, "As president, I refuse to allow this problem to fester. Our security interests won't permit it. Our courts won't allow it. And neither should our conscience."

Resolution of Gitmo detainee cases will proceed along one of five paths, Obama said. When possible, cases will be tried in federal courts. Some deetainees who violated "the laws of war" will be tried by military commissions. Some "ordered by the courts" to be released will go free. "I cannot ignore these rulings because as President, I, too, am bound by the law." A fourth group will be "transferred safely to another country." And for those "who cannot be prosecuted yet who pose a clear danger to the American people ... people who, in effect, remain at war with the United States ... [w]e must have clear, defensible and lawful standards ... the goal is to construct a legitimate legal framework ... including congressional and judicial oversight."

Obama acknowledged that over the last eight years, "Americans often felt that some of the story had been withheld from them" and that "someone must always watch over the watchers." He said his administration would rely less on the states secret privilege than did their predecessors. He promised to protect Americans and provide accountability and oversight, treating Congress and the courts as coequal branches of government. And he promised, "I will tell the American people what I know and don't know, and when I release something publicly or keep something secret, I will tell you why."

Obama summed up his change of course this way:

There is a core principle that we will apply to all of our actions: even as we clean up the mess at Guantánamo, we will constantly re-evaluate our approach, subject our decisions to review from the other branches of government, and seek the strongest and most sustainable legal framework for addressing these issues in the long-term. By doing that, we can leave behind a legacy that outlasts my administration, and that endures for the next president and the president after that; a legacy that protects the American people, and enjoys broad legitimacy at home and abroad.

The President went on to restate his opposition to creating an independent, investigative commission as a means of holding the past administration accountable for its deeds. In effect, he tossed the hot potato of accountability back to Congress and the Judicial Branch:

I have opposed the creation of such a commission because I believe that our existing democratic institutions are strong enough to deliver accountability. The Congress can review abuses of our values, and there are ongoing inquiries by the Congress into matters like enhanced interrogation techniques. The department of justice and our courts can work through and punish any violations of our laws.

He then returned to a discussion of changes he has made and his ongoing aims:

I can stand here today, as President of the United States, and say without exception or equivocation that we do not torture, and that we will vigorously protect our people while forging a strong and durable framework that allows us to fight terrorism while abiding by the rule of law. Make no mistake: if we fail to turn the page on the approach that was taken over the past several years, then I will not be able to say that as president. And if we cannot stand for those core values, then we are not keeping faith with the documents that are enshrined in this hall.

The President characterized his overriding goal as to create an enduring legacy "that protects the American people, and enjoys broad legitimacy at home and abroad."

President Barack Obama's remarks as prepared for delivery, 5/21/09

^{Photo: Barack Obama delivers remarks on US national security at the National Archives building in Washington. Photograph: Matthew Cavanaugh/EPA}

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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