Obama Revives Gitmo Military Tribunals
President Barack Obama announced Friday that he will restart Bush-era military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees, reviving a fiercely disputed trial system he once denounced with new legal protections for terror suspects.
Michael Steele: Gun-grabbing Democrats

by Mark Silva

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Commitee, dropped in on the National Rifle Association's "Celebration of American Values'" (assault weapons, 15-round ammo clips, 9 mm semi-automatics, etc.) Leadership Forum in Phoenix today.

Not only are the Democrats taking aim at the right to bear arms, the chairman suggested, but President Barack Obama's determination to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison means terrrorists soon will be coming to a jailhouse near you. Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri voiced a similar warning in the party's weekly address last weekend.

"Whenever they can, wherever they can, the Democrats want to take away the rights of law abiding citizens to own and purchase a guna right that is guaranteed under the United States Constitution,'' Steele warned his audience today. "It is ironic, to say the least, that at the same time Democrats in Congress are threatening to deny Americans their second amendment right to own a firearm and defend their families and homes, they are considering bringing terrorists like 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other Al Qaeda detainees to our communities once the President follows through on his campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay. ...

He also had this to say about Homelandd Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's warning recently about the threat posed by "rightwing extremists.''

"Not only is this silly, it is sad.''

(RNC Chairman Michael Steele, pictured above at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, where President Obama greeted him from the dais with a friendly, "Wazzup?'' Photo Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press / MCT)

And this, about Obama's search for a Supreme Court justice with a "diversity of experience'' and "empathy'' for ordinary Americans:

"Now let's pause for a moment,'' Steele told the NRA. "Everything I've just discussed is what the liberal Democrats are able to do with control of two branches of government. Before the end of President Obama's first term it is entirely possible that liberal democrats could control every lever of every branch of government. ...

"Supreme Court justices hold lifetime appointments. That is why it is imperative that President Obama take his time and search for a nominee with the wisdom and grounding to interpret the laws of our great nationnot one who will have a knee-jerk desire to 'empathize' with the concerns of Americans.

"Sounds like instead of another Judge Roberts, the president is looking to put Dr. Phil on the Court,'' Steele said. "There is no doubt that the president is under extreme pressure with this decision. Liberal groups who escorted him down Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day are looking for a bit of payback. ... They want a young, activist, left-wing justice who will leave a liberal legacy long after the Obama administration is over.

"Obama is considering including politicians, not judges, among his short-list of Supreme Court nominees,'' Steele said. "We don't need a justice on the court with an ideological agenda."

Obama Revives Detainee Tribunals At Guantanamo

President Obama says he is restarting military tribunals for a small number of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo, though with several new legal protections for defendants. Other rule changes include a ban on all evidence obtained through cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including waterboarding.