President Obama’s speech on national security last week in which he promoted a plan of preventive detention for some Guantanamo detainees raised many constitutional concerns.
And while I’ve been trying to decide whether or not I was surprised by the content of his speech, his overall message was similar to something we would hear from the Bush administration.
In his speech, while detailing aspects of national security, Obama spoke on the task of eventually closing down the prison at Guantanamo and what measures need to be taken to determine the future of the detainees held there.
“Now, finally, there remains the question of detainees at Guantanamo who cannot be prosecuted, yet who pose a clear danger to the American people,” Obama said. “And I have to be honest here – this is the toughest single issue that we will face. We’re going to exhaust every avenue that we have to prosecute those at Guantanamo who pose a danger to our country.
“But even when this process is complete, there may be a number of people who cannot be prosecuted for past crimes, in some cases because evidence may be tainted, but who nonetheless pose a threat to the security of the United States.”
Controversy arose when Obama promoted a plan of preventive detention for many of the detainees who couldn’t be tried. This plan of preventive detention would allow the government to indefinitely detain individuals whom they believe may commit future ac… >>>
