Where the President and I have perhaps our biggest disagreements - and where I believe he is dead wrong are in the critical areas of national security and military matters. I can only hope his naiveté doesn't lead to another attack on US soil or a weakening of US combat readiness, but his plans in these areas will expose us to those dangers.
Fulfilling several of his campaign promises, he has signaled that repeal of the military ban on openly gay service members, so called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", is imminent. He has also issued Executive Orders closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, ending the practice of extra judicial rendition and outlawing stressful interrogations, calling use of these methods a false choice between our safety and ideals.
The practical, philosophical and logistical problems with Obama's directives are numerous:
Speak No Evil
The President only knows what he's heard. On most military matters, he is simply misinformed. Gay people do serve in the nation's military. They always have. Some have served with distinction, while others have served as distractions. The important distinction that must be made is that of the "openly" gay service member; the activist.
At it's very core, military service stresses sacrifice and selflessness above all. In basic training, you are stripped of your individual identity and rebuilt as a part of the broader war machine. Individualism is incompatible with combat. Individuals are punished. They are killed or otherwise wash out in a Darwinian fashion, it's that simple.
The openly gay lifestyle is completely at odds with military philosophy. If one's behavior, individual identity or desire to express those traits is so important to that individual that, in that individual, those desires trump the need to maintain a unified force free of stresses and distractions, then that behavior is also incompatible with military service. Gay people are not currently banned from serving their country. Like all military members, they are simply not allowed to engage in behavior that may have a detrimental impact on their ability to win wars. The US military is not Obama's social Petri dish. Its sole purpose is to win wars. Obama must go through Congress to change the law first, but if he is sent a bill that opens the closet door, it will have a devastating effect on morale and readiness.
Island Dreams
Obama's order to close Camp Delta requires review and disposition of the detainees before closing the facility, all of which must be done at lighting speed, within one year. But what do you do with the detainees?
There are those that will face justice. Do you try them in civilian court according to our Constitution where they can cross-examine and expose covert agents and intelligence methods? Should some prosecutor fail to convince a jury of the defendant's guilt; or some loony liberal jury acquits out of sympathy, do you simply release them? Many of their home countries don't want them and some even face prison or torture back home.
As for the rest, this means repatriation, sending them to a third country or even releasing them here in the US. Obama's order is written vaguely enough that should a detainee be granted release; should their home country refuse to take them; should no third country want them; it is entirely conceivable that these former terrorist detainees are paroled into the United States. Nothing in Obama's order prevents that.
Finally, the known recidivism rate among terrorist detainees is roughly 1 in 10. But, we can only count those we've re-apprehended, so that number is inaccurate and understated. One of these offenders turned out to be Ali al Shiri, a confirmed al Qaeda lieutenant in Yemen. How many more have re-joined the fight? We're kidding ourselves if we think that our jihadi rehab program works. We give them crayons, tell them to put their feelings to paper and renounce violence and suddenly, they're cured?
All of us want to end the detention of foreigners, but President Obama is acting far too hastily, appeasing those who want Camp Delta shut down, yet lacking a rational, secure plan to do so. Closing this facility helps liberals sleep at night, but does nothing to further our national security.
You Have The Right To Remain Violent
Unfortunately for us, the president's order limiting interrogation methods to the Army Field Manual means in all practicality that if we captured a terrorist with personal, detailed knowledge of an imminent nuclear detonation in a major US city, we can't even use loud music to protect American lives. This is the single, dumbest decision I have ever heard of and speaks to Obama's ignorance in matters of life and death.
No one supports sadism, but the truth is, there have been varying degrees of success with different methods. Outlawing electrical shocks, broken bones and mock executions is one thing, but outlawing methods such as sleep deprivation or temperature extremes will do nothing to make us safer. Our enemies will still hack off the heads of US battlefield captives regardless of how we deal with them. Thoughts to the contrary are just plain naive.
Like Clinton, the Obama administration sees terrorism as a law enforcement problem, which is why he chose Eric Holder, Leon Panetta and the other former Clinton officials on whose watch were erected barriers between intelligence agencies and law enforcement; barriers which prevented the timely and free flow of information that could have prevented bin Laden from ever attacking the US.
Although our new president believes he's being pragmatic, he's playing a dangerous game and projecting weakness and incompetence. The changes he's now forcing down our throats, concerning critical domestic and international issues are far too numerous, far too drastic and all at once - virtually assuring there will be a host of unintended consequences to deal with.
It may be customary for some deference to be afforded a new President, but there is no law mandating that one follow blindly if an incompetent leader he tells you that you can cough up another trillion dollars to socialize (and therefore) save the economy or do nothing and watch it implode.
Talk about false choices...
