THE RISKS OF OBAMA'S LEGAL STRATEGY - AT 10:35 A.M. ET:  Several days after the bombshell announcement that the mastermind of 9-11, and some of his closest friends, will be tried in an ordinary federal courtroom in New York, an increasing number of experts are warning about the dire consequences that could result from that and other legal decisions made by the Obamans, including the possibility that judges could release terrorists on American soil.  From The Politico:

While some Americans fear that Guantanamo prisoners brought to U.S. prisons might break out, a far more likely possibility is that some of the terror suspects will simply walk out at some point in the future on the order of a federal judge.

On Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced plans to bring five men from Gitmo to New York to face trial in a civilian court for allegedly plotting the Sept. 11 attacks. The Justice Department is likely to transfer several dozen inmates to the U.S. later for open-ended detention, and dozens more could join them if the U.S. can’t find another country to accept them.

Critics are warning that prosecutions are inherently unpredictable and that bringing prisoners onto U.S. soil dramatically improves their chances of being released here some day.

“All the media focus on bringing them into the U.S. has talked about the physical threat [of an escape]. That’s the least of our problems. We’ve got prisons that can contain a physical threat.” said Jan Ting, a law professor at Temple University and a top immigration official under President George H.W. Bush. “That’s really the wrong question to ask. There are legal entanglements that happen when you bring people to the U.S.”

Gives us confidence in the decisions of this administration, doesn't it?  Not that we've had such confidence before.

What's obnoxious is the cynical comments coming from the very top:

During a speech in May, Obama vowed not to release Guantanamo prisoners who pose a threat to the U.S., but stopped short of promising that no one presently at Gitmo would ever be free in this country.

“I am not going to release individuals who endanger the American people,” Obama declared.

However, the president also made clear that he would not defy the courts. “I cannot ignore these rulings because as President, I, too, am bound by the law. The United States is a nation of laws and so we must abide by these rulings,” he said.

It's the old "my hands are tied" game.  But his hands wouldn't be tied if he'd pursued the sane policy of treating the prisoners as enemy combatants, which they are, rather than as shoplifters.  That, however, would go against the grain of his hard-left beliefs, which are becoming clearer by the week.

November 15, 2009