On Gitmo, Obama Has a NIMBY Problem

Experts see potential loopholes, gray areas in revised policies

(NEWSER) - With a stroke of the pen, President Obama rewrote American detention and interrogation policy yesterday. Or not, writes Josh Gerstein for Politico. He offers reasons not to overstate Obama’s policy changes:

• "Everyone has to follow the Army Field Manual—for now…": Obama is convening a group to study writing additional policies; a rights group calls this an “escape hatch” from his no-torture policy.

Administration ends 2-year military prosecution freeze

(NEWSER) - President Obama today reversed a two-year freeze on military prosecutions against Guantanamo Bay detainees, the AP reports. In an executive order, the president restarted the process of trying the high-risk detainees—the latest acknowledgment of the political difficulties of fulfilling his campaign promise to close the Cuban detention facility. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will also rescind his January 2009 ban on new prosecutions. More»

Move an admission that detention center is here to stay

(NEWSER) - President Obama has given Robert Gates the go-ahead to initiate new military commissions against Guantanamo detainees—something Obama originally banned on the first day of his presidency. Within weeks one or more detainees may face new charges—the Justice Department has already designated some prisoners for military tribunal, including suspected US Cole attack mastermind Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the New York Times reports. More»

Federal, Military prosecutors fight for rare testimony

(NEWSER) - Federal and military prosecutors looking to convict Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainees are competing with each other to offer plea bargains to lower-profile inmates in exchange for testimony. Some detainees have remained at Gitmo because they are considered too difficult to prosecute, and the evidence against some of them is so thin that in one case, a prosecutor asked a defendant to suggest a charge he’d be willing to cop to. More»

Experts split on whether to use federal courts or military commissions

(NEWSER) - President Obama is edging closer to his goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison: Congress has approved detainee trials on US soil and the National Defense Authorization Act, passed yesterday, attempts to repair the damaged legality of President Bush’s military-commissions system. But hurdles remain, with legal scholars split on using the improved military-commissions system or federal courts for prosecutions. More»