President Obama and the now-vex’d Bermoothes.

Heckuva job there, Barry.

You know, it’s not the fact that we’re apparently on the verge of toppling another foreign government that bemuses me, per se; toppling foreign governments is one of those things that the United States of America simply does, as a byproduct of our very existence. Whether or not that’s an inherently good thing is going to be a matter of some debate – particularly if you’re somebody who’s never lived under one or another of the unpleasant regimes that we’ve absentmindedly obliterated, over the years*. So I’m not particularly startled at the thought that it may be about to happen again.

Still. Bermuda?

Crockwell tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that Bermudians are very concerned about the potential threat the Uighurs pose to the security and economy of Bermuda, and are outraged by the secretive and unilateral manner in which Bermuda premier Dr. Ewart Brown decided to accept the detainees.

“There’s a great deal of anxiety right now,” says Crockwell. “We have not received any information at all in terms of who these individuals are.”

“We hear reports that they have been associated with al Qaeda … that they were trained in terrorist camps,” as well as reports that the men are innocent. “So we don’t know” how much a security risk the former detainees pose. Crockwell says that the Bermudian people and members of parliament don’t know where the Uighurs are now being housed by the government.

“We think the premier, who made a unilateral decision, has put this country at risk. We believe that when there’s uncertainty we have to err on the side of caution,” Crockwell adds. Crockwell’s United Bermuda Party has already moved a motion of no confidence against Brown to remove him as the leader of parliament. He says that a “member of the backbench has stated not even the cabinet was informed of this decision,” which Crockwell described as a “unilateral autocratic decision made by one man who has created a national crisis for the island of Bermuda.”

Continue reading President Obama and the now-vex’d Bermoothes.

Germany disinclined to acquiesce to Obama’s Uighur request.

Means ‘no*.’

As Track-A-‘Crat notes, the administration is at best spinning its difficulties to get anybody else to take the Uighurs. The President is claiming that there have been no hard commitments, which implies that negotiations for giving some over to Germany are still going on:

Strictly speaking, that may be true. But according to information obtained by SPIEGEL, Germany has long since blocked the idea of accepting Guantanamo detainees — and has done so without having to issue an outright rejection.

In talks at the end of May, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble presented US Attorney General Eric Holder with a list of criteria to be fulfilled before Germany would take nine Uighur detainees. Schäuble said Washington needed to present a clear case as to why the Uighurs, members of a Muslim minority in north-western China, couldn’t be taken in by the US or other countries. He also said America had to offer proof that they weren’t dangerous, and that they had a personal connection to Germany. He told Holder that Germany was unable to accept people who couldn’t travel to the US on a simple tourist visa.

Continue reading Germany disinclined to acquiesce to Obama’s Uighur request.

President Obama finally has a chance to show his mettle.

Because while Dick Cheney may have won the battle of public opinion, it’s the President who makes the final call.

Now that it’s come out that the President’s stance on Gitmo is deeply, deeply unpopular with the American people (via @BrianFaughnan):

WASHINGTON — Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to closing the detention center for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and moving some of the detainees to prisons on U.S. soil, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.

By more than 2-1, those surveyed say Guantanamo shouldn’t be closed. By more than 3-1, they oppose moving some of the accused terrorists housed there to prisons in their own states.

…he has an unparalleled change to show his leadership. Now is the time for the President to come out with his detailed, specific, and comprehensive plan for closing down the prison at Gitmo and incarcerating its prisoners on American soil.  No matter how unpopular it might be.

We’ll get a response from the White House any moment now.  I’m certain of it.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

‘Maybe by this summer, Obama will finally admit out loud that George W. Bush had it right all along.’

Maybe Ed Morrissey is even more of a brazen optimist than I am. Having this President openly acknowledge that Gitmo serves a useful purpose and should be retained would be like having the Pope come out and declare ex cathedra that Hell was actually a pretty cool vacation spot, down to the likely reaction of certain members of the base.

Which is not to say that Gitmo is going to close. People just need to… forget that Gitmo was supposed to close, that’s all.

Moe Lane

PS: I get the impression that the Uighurs are turning into one of those convenient complications for this administration.

Crossposted to RedState.

Montana town offers to take Gitmo detainees.

Hardin, Montana – a very small, very poor town with a very new, very empty jail, is willing to take on the responsibility of holding Gitmo detainees:

Hardin borrowed $27 million through bonds to build the Two Rivers Regional Correctional Facility in hopes of creating new employment opportunities. The jail was ready for prisoners two years ago, but has yet to house a single prisoner.

People here say politics in the capital of Helena has kept it empty. But the city council last month voted 5-0 to back a proposal to bring Gitmo detainees — some of the most hardened terrorists in the world — to the facility.

Montanan Senators (both of whom are Democrats) wet themselves in response:

The state’s congressional leaders have lined up against the plan. “Housing potential terrorists in Montana is not good for our state,” Max Baucus, the state’s senior Democratic senator, wrote to [economic development director Greg Smith]. “These people stop at nothing. Their primary goal in life, and death, is to destroy America.”

Adds Sen. Jon Tester, “I just don’t think it’s appropriate, that’s all. I don’t think they know what they’re asking for.”

Continue reading Montana town offers to take Gitmo detainees.

Liz Cheney: no middle ground.

Another good bit from Liz Cheney:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Allahpundit is a little surprised that Liz’s popularity with the base has risen so quickly; I’m not. For whatever reason, a full-throat defense of Bush’s decisions on how to fight the GWOT were few and far between during the Bush administration itself, and that grated with Republicans. It grated on me, in fact, and I take the position that Bush actually didn’t have much choice in the matter. So, when Liz showed up last month and casually obliterated Norah O’Donnell… water to thirsty soil, my droogies. Like water to thirsty soil.

I will note one thing, however: while it would have been nice to have this conversation during the last campaign, it wouldn’t have happened even if Cheney had somehow been running for President. Based on the actual campaign and extrapolating, the Democrats would have instead run on a platform that equally highlighted Cheney’s age, his aim, and his lesbian daughter.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Gitmo closing not to be funded.

“The rule is – jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today.”
– Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

Fresh from Senator Webb’s decision to play bellwether – or Judas goat? – on the retreat from Gitmo (see also here) we have this latest word on the Matter of Gitmo:

AP source: Democrats won’t fund Guantanamo closing

By ANDREW TAYLOR – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison until the administration comes up with a satisfactory plan for transferring the detainees there, a top Democrat said Tuesday.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo is not dead — only that the funding will have to wait until the administration devises an acceptable plan to handle the closure and transfer the detainees. Obama has promised to close the military prison by January.

[snip]

It appears to be a tactical retreat. Once the administration develops a plan to close the facility, congressional Democrats are likely to revisit the topic, provided they are satisfied there are adequate safeguards.

Continue reading Gitmo closing not to be funded.

Senator Webb comes out against Gitmo.

You have the right to neither surprise, nor a sense of betrayal.

[UPDATE] Welcome, Hot Air readers.

Oh, Webb is saying that he’s merely against the timetable, but that’s just political-speak for ‘I need to start laying down the groundwork for my retreat on this issue.’ By this time next year he’ll be telling everybody how he’s fully satisfied that Obama’s ‘reform’ of Gitmo addresses the issues brought up during the campaign, etc, etc, etc. Amazing how quickly some of these guys catch Washington Establishment Disease, huh? Continue reading Senator Webb comes out against Gitmo.

Jim Moran (D) calls Bobby Lee a patriot.

Oh, how I will get yelled at for this.

[UPDATE]: Welcome, Instapundit readers. You may find this lighter fare on vamprirism studies amusing.

I understand that the PMA thing requires a distraction; but this?

In each case, Alexandria demonstrated the kind of courage and patriotism that can be traced to the city’s roots as the home town of George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

“Courage” I will grant for General Lee, readily enough. I even think that he did what he thought was the right thing. However, speaking as someone whose home states contributed the 69th New York Infantry, the 1st New Jersey Brigade, and the 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry to the Army of the Potomac… I feel that we should reserve the designation of “patriotism” for those individuals who, generally speaking, do not enter into armed rebellion against the duly constituted government of the United States of America.

Although I must admit: it almost obscures the fact that the man has just volunteered his Congressional District to hold a bunch of vicious terrorists indefinitely. As I said before, that’s one heck of a distraction.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Obama prepares to start up military tribunals for Gitmo detainees.

(Via Just One Minute) Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia, you know:

U.S. May Revive Guantánamo Military Courts

The Obama administration is moving toward reviving the military commission system for prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, which was a target of critics during the Bush administration, including Mr. Obama himself.

[snip]

When President Obama suspended Guantánamo cases after his inauguration on Jan. 20, many participants said the military commission system appeared dead.

Mind you, other people suggested that the President’s actions back then were possibly just an attempt to give him maneuvering room while he came up with a way to keep the status quo going.  Which leads to an interesting scenario: let us say that the President decides to run military tribunals for Gitmo detainees.  Let us also say that he (with a little help from Congress*) steamrollers over current opposition to those tribunals.  Once those tribunals are done, and the existing detainees are processed… what’s stopping the President from continuing to keep Gitmo operating?  After all, did he not just ‘reform’ it?  It’d certainly be cheaper to keep an existing facility going than to shut it down and create a new one.  Fiscal responsibility is good, right?

And what would any critics plan to do about it, anyway?

Vote Republican?

Moe Lane

PS: Jim Geraghty: “All Barack Obama Statements Come With an Expiration Date. All Of Them.”

*Not to mention his Old and New Media lapdogs, many of whom would reveal themselves in the course of said steamrolling.

Crossposted to RedState.