No change on renditions
posted at 5:20 pm on February 9, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
If Barack Obama wanted to change direction on American rendition policy, the case of Mohamed et al v Jeppesen Dataplan Inc would give him his best opportunity. The plaintiffs sued the Boeing subsidiary for transporting them back to their home countries, and the Ninth Circuit just began hearing the appeal of a dismissal in federal district court on national security grounds. With a venue as sympathetic as the most-overturned appellate court in the nation, one would expect the Obama administration to use that forum for an about-face on Bush administration rendition policies.
The Obama Administration today announced that it would keep the same position as the Bush Administration in the lawsuit Mohamed et al v Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. …
A source inside of the Ninth U.S. District Court tells ABC News that a representative of the Justice Department stood up to say that its position hasn’t changed, that new administration stands behind arguments that previous administration made, with no ambiguity at all. The DOJ lawyer said the entire subject matter remains a state secret.
This is not going to please civil libertarians and human rights activists who had hoped the Obama administration would allow the lawsuit to proceed.
In other words, their entire contribution to the effort comes down to, “What Bush said.”
Fine by me, and as I’ve explained before, the Obama administration has no choice but to pursue renditions. They want to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which means they have to find someplace to put terrorists captured by military and intelligence operatives. No one will want them in the US, and without Gitmo or an equivalent replacement, and without permanent “black sites” for the CIA, Obama’s policy leaves him with three options: release, assassination, and rendition.
It’s interesting that Obama hasn’t had the testicular fortitude to own up to his choices publicly. Will the media and the Left hold him accountable for this decision? Or am I being redundant?
Blowback
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“…Present.”
Nat Hound on February 9, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Im sure they’re going to do it, but feel bad about it later. That’s change.
Chuck Schick on February 9, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Okay, if it stands. I agree with the President.
hawkdriver on February 9, 2009 at 5:23 PM
I’m over my head.
But it sure feels nice.
carbon_footprint on February 9, 2009 at 5:23 PM
so, thanks to Dem political idiocy, supposedly worried about the “human rights” of Terrorist, instead of living it up in Gitmo with foot baths, Korans, prayer mats and a nice menu to eat off of in the Carribean. They will be sent to some hell hole country and truly tortured instead.
good job dems
jp on February 9, 2009 at 5:23 PM
“Oh crap, we really took a beating on the USS Cole thing. Let’s prosecute on this one.” -The One
portlandon on February 9, 2009 at 5:24 PM
It’s just a jump to the left…
…and then a step to the riiiiiiight.
Christien on February 9, 2009 at 5:26 PM
The other problem is, if the terrorist’s “buddies” know where he is, they may try to silence him by blowing the prison apart, and the guy getting blown apart will probably love the idea of being transported to “paradise.” The place they hold terrorists either has to be as secure as Gitmo, or invisible to the public. Otherwise, it’s a bomb target.
RBMN on February 9, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Hey, this job is easy, just do what the previous guy did…
right2bright on February 9, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Single-party rule: Un-American for Republicans then, efficient for Democrats now.
Fighting wars all over the world: Good for Clinton ten years ago, bad for Bush five years ago.
Six Ohio state agencies with their noses up a plumber’s ass: Nothing to see there. The FBI sharing information to stop terrorist attacks: BAAAAWWWWWWWW!!!
National health care: Good. National religion: Bad.
Abortion: Good. Death penalty: Bad.
No cigarettes? Good. No weed? Bad.
Renditions under Bush? Time to scream “HITLER!!!” Renditions under Obama? Business as usual.
Hypocrisy, thy name is the Democrat party.
Ryan Gandy on February 9, 2009 at 5:29 PM
This is part of Obama’s learning curve. I want to be there when he realizes how smart Bush and Cheney were in formulating a response in the war on terror.
patrick neid on February 9, 2009 at 5:30 PM
“Look, that was just campaign rhetoric. It seemed right at the time, and I got lots of applause. Oh, by the way, you also know that stuff I said about Afghanistan and Iraq,…?”
a capella on February 9, 2009 at 5:30 PM
The One doesn’t want to create too many problems at once in trying to follow the far left ideology he used to spout. He is already turning the economy into something out of the film Idiocracy. Give Him time.
IlikedAUH2O on February 9, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Part of me thinks he’s already figured it out. Time will tell whether or not he cares.
BadgerHawk on February 9, 2009 at 5:32 PM
There must have been some doozies in that folder Bush and Cheney showed him on the day before he took office.
MadisonConservative on February 9, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Assassination? You mean, line them up and Obama, wearing a Che beret, yells, “Fuego!” The left would have a pretty dance around that. Personally, I’d like it.
laelaps on February 9, 2009 at 5:36 PM
MadisonConservative on February 9, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Ya think?
Ryan Gandy on February 9, 2009 at 5:36 PM
So when do the peacers start calling him “Obama-itler” or “Barakitler”?
Oh, never? Okay then.
mjk on February 9, 2009 at 5:38 PM
couple years ago when Judge Napolotono went to Gitmo he claimed he reviewed all the evidence. He said on the radio that most of them have traveled to over 25 different US Cities(i.e. Sleeper cells?) and were caught in Iraq/Afghanistan mostly. Then he went on to claim, wrongly to the pet peeve of those like Andy McCarthy, that Gitmo was “unconstitutional” and they deserved Habeaus Corpus rights.
jp on February 9, 2009 at 5:39 PM
1st year give the left as much as you can to make them happy. Make a check list of the things you cant. Year 2-3 talk tough and centrist while those on the right forget what he did in the first year. Year 4 refer to check list to solidify left, get reelected.
Badbrucskie on February 9, 2009 at 5:40 PM
mjk on February 9, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Exactly, it’ll never happen.
Ryan Gandy on February 9, 2009 at 5:43 PM
21 days into this puppy…and how many “Present” votes have we heard from the Obamameister?
coldwarrior on February 9, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Obamalini has a nice bandana-wearing thug with a Che t-shirt sound to it.
hawkdriver on February 9, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Teh One is smoking up a storm! He looks like hell on all these front page pics.
baldilocks on February 9, 2009 at 5:48 PM
What I’m glad about is that 9/11 didn’t happen on Obama’s watch. Good gravy – that would have been all over the map. At least Bush/Cheney formed a successful template and now all Obama has to do is fall into step.
No other terror acts happened on Bush’s watch. If Obama varies from the template and an act of terror happens, he’ll
catch hell for itbe allowed to use Bush as a scapegoat in some fashion.Sorry… forgot the script there for a moment.
beatcanvas on February 9, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Not a high enough profile case.
No National Media… so no reason to “make a stand” on this.
He will only change policy when he can make political points with it.
Romeo13 on February 9, 2009 at 5:48 PM
As long as he doesn’t *feel* like Bush, then it’s ok.
kirkill on February 9, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Change Hope. sputter.. splat!
normsrevenge on February 9, 2009 at 5:50 PM
So, it appears that HOPE and CHANGE are mutually exclusive.
MikeA on February 9, 2009 at 5:52 PM
O/T
Is it just me, or does the picture on the front page look like the tape behind Ogabe’s ears is about to become unsticky and those Dumbo ears are just going snap to the full force of their hugeness?
Branch Rickey on February 9, 2009 at 5:53 PM
t’s just a jump to the left…
…and then a step to the riiiiiiight.
Christien on February 9, 2009 at 5:26 PM
“Put your hands on your hips….. and pull your morals in tight…”
catlady on February 9, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Re: Napolitano’s commentary, and habeus corpus, et. al., he is wrong.
To dated there has been NO successful challenge to USSC certiorari in Johnson, Secretary of Defense, et. al. v. Eisentrager, Alias Ehrhardt, [1950] establishing a nonresident enemy alien has no access to our courts in wartime.
We are at war…and until it is ended, or the status of the war is changed BY CONGRESS to merely a police investigative exercise, under the complete auspices of the FBI/DoJ, Johnson v. Eisentrager stands.
,
coldwarrior on February 9, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Those national intelligence briefings are a bitch, aren’t they, Barry?
Blacklake on February 9, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Teh One is smoking up a storm! He looks like hell on all these front page pics.
baldilocks on February 9, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Guess those hours in the gym are all for naught. Wonder when he is going to get his own personal dope supplier?
catlady on February 9, 2009 at 5:57 PM
War criminals!
rbj on February 9, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Rendition is the equivalent of voting “present”, O-man.
You’re either all in (we’re in a real and dirty war, and we need to do what we need to do) or you’re all out (we’re in a simple and benign misunderstanding of cultures).
To do anything else is gutless.
Bruno Strozek on February 9, 2009 at 5:58 PM
ROFLMAO. Seriously. I cant breathe.
Mike D. on February 9, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Judge Napolotono isn’t a ‘real judge’ really either, he won an election for Superior Court once in New Jersey and somehow made it from that to TV.
not long ago he was on with Shep Smith talking about how horrible it was our ‘habeaus rights’ had been taken from us, etc. etc…
jp on February 9, 2009 at 6:01 PM
You’re either lying or horribly misinformed.
Binyam Mohammed was a UK asylum seeker from Ethiopia who was rendered to Morocco, which was clearly not ever his “home country.” He was then savagely tortured with the full complicity and knowledge of the CIA and MI6. Obama is covering up the crimes of his predecessor because he’s apparently “one of the boys” now. Shame on him.
AJB on February 9, 2009 at 6:04 PM
Bless their little craniums, the Kos Kidz are flipping out. I must admit it makes my heart soar. Reality is beginning to dawn, but they are still trying to stay in denial, making multitudinous excuses for their divine Messiah. One even mentioned that renditions weren’t invented by the “heinous” Boosh, but they didn’t seem to know (or perhaps admit?) that this was a Clinton invention. The ignorance there is almost palpable.
marybel on February 9, 2009 at 6:29 PM
Obama has effectively created a race for his carefully guarded “true identity”, like a cartoon at the Bulls game. Since no one really knows who he is, the starting gun fires and you get to watch “stupid”, “incompetent”, and “dishonest” fight for the early lead in his Presidency, knowing that one of them has to win.
My money is on Dishonest by 10 lengths.
Jaibones on February 9, 2009 at 7:04 PM
Go ahead and close Gitmo. Give prisoners a map and compass to naviagate with, and a pair of speedos and release them.
Either that or a high altitude drop and ground penetration form of repatriation.
moxie_neanderthal on February 9, 2009 at 10:04 PM
I thought that Bambi wouldn’t be able to vote “present” as president. Turns out that I was mistaken.
Physics Geek on February 9, 2009 at 10:44 PM
UPDATE:
Here is Rachel Maddow reaching desperately for someone to tell her what she wants to hear so that she can go back to sleep:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E4QdUT9QSY
Notice when Scott Horton presumtuously declares that the only rendition he expects we may see is like when Israel captured and rendered Eichman to their own country.
Jimmy the Dhimmi on February 10, 2009 at 1:24 AM