As Byron York reports, Obama has three options for dealing with the highly inconvenient Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: try him in a civilian court, try him at Gitmo, or just hold him at Gitmo until somebody figures out what to do with him or he dies of old age, whichever comes first.
Option #2 will infuriate Obama’s base. Option #1 will infuriate normal people. That adds up to 100%. So, okay, “indefinite detention,” why not? York explains why not:
The only consequences of keeping KSM in indefinite detention would be — if one takes Obama’s 2008 campaign statements literally — to undermine the Constitution, destroy U.S. credibility around the world, and deliver a boost to terrorist recruitment.
In June 2008, candidate Obama exchanged criticisms with Sen. John McCain over the war on terrorism. “It is my firm belief that we can track terrorists, we can crack down on threats against the United States, but we can do so within the constraints of our Constitution,” Obama told ABC’s Jake Tapper. “Let’s take the example of Guantanamo. What we know is that, in previous terrorist attacks — for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center, we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated. And the fact that the administration has not tried to do that has created a situation where not only have we never actually put many of these folks on trial, but we have destroyed our credibility when it comes to rule of law all around the world, and given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, ‘Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims.'”
And of course, the first thing Obama did after they showed him how to jiggle the handle on the Oval Office john was make a big deal out of promising to close Gitmo:
This was reported at the time with headlines like “Obama Closes Gitmo,” in the fine tradition of treating Obama’s promises like accomplishments.
A year later, the universe having failed to bend itself to his whim, he was still talking about it:
“…and the best way to do that is not to do that.”
See, Obama is changing everything by doing everything the same. This is a mark of his genius. Any seeming contradiction or hypocrisy is merely a brushstroke in the glorious masterpiece that is Obama. You just don’t get it.
Also, being president is hard, you guys!
P.S. On a related note: American Narcissus: The Vanity of Barack Obama.