That’d be the one mandated by the President’s 01/22/2009 Executive Order that was supposed to reflect a clean break with the past; it’s supposed to be a review and critique of our detention policy, particular those of illegal combatants. It and a review of interrogation techniques (mandated by this Executive Order) were scheduled for today, and both are absolutely necessary for the administration to have if they want to close down Gitmo. Having these out will be a real shot in the arm for progressives who feel that the White House is dragging its feet on this issue…
Obama’s Gitmo Task Force Blows Its Deadline
An Obama administration task force set up to develop a plan for the closure of the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay will miss its first deadline this week—and put off a key report—amid continued divisions over how to resolve one of the president’s thorniest policy dilemmas.
The task force, set up on Obama’s second day in office, was charged with preparing a report to the president by Tuesday, July 21, outlining a long-term detention plan for detainees captured in counterterrorism operations after Sept. 11. But continued debate within the task force over the legal basis for holding detainees who are not charged with any crimes—and where to house them once they are moved from Guantánamo—has forced the task force to postpone its report by a “few months,” a senior administration official told NEWSWEEK.
Or not. Via @allahpundit.
If you’re outraged by this, feel free to be so – among your own sort. I never expected either one of these two reports (yes, the interrogation techniques one is similarly delayed) to do anything but give the White House cover for continuing Bush-era policies. I am a little surprised that they’re trying to bury the findings like this – I was expecting a weaselly double-talk report that ended up giving the administration a fig leaf – but considering how much the public is against closing Gitmo this probably makes more sense. This isn’t the Bush administration, after all; the current President is always aware of the poll numbers, and he has yet to show an interest in wasting a drop of political capital on anything that won’t make him more likely to be reelected. I actually do recognize that it’s infuriating to his most fervent supporters, but it really shouldn’t be a surprise.
Besides, the White House knows that it can get away with it. What are progressives going to do? Vote Republican?
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
Pity reply.
Hey Moe, re: the delay in the Gitmo report, thought you’d find our multi-perspective report interesting: http://www.newsy.com/videos/questioning_the_delay_of_gitmo_closure
We inform viewers by providing a number of different perspectives from generally mainstream media to give our viewers a better idea of the real issues, but we let them come to their own conclusions based on the facts.