Washington Post — Obama Will Try to Quell Concern on Detainees
President Obama will today try to have it both ways, this time on terrorists with a major speech. Obama is expected to say that he is fulfilling his pledge upon taking office that he would close Guantanamo Bay by releasing, transferring abroad or trying all its inmates will be fulfilled, but in a fashion less scary to Congress.
But as writer Karen DeYoung points out, puffs of talk on the subject may not reveal that great a shift, except for in PR.
“In a move that is likely to further antagonize lawmakers, a Justice Department task force reviewing the detainee cases has decided to send the first Guantanamo prisoner to the United States for criminal trial. A Justice Department official said that Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, an alleged al-Qaeda operative indicted in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, will be tried in New York. Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was captured in Pakistan in 2004, held at a secret site by the CIA and transferred to Guantanamo with other “high-value” prisoners in 2006.
Ghailani was first indicted in 1998 in the Southern District of New York on 236 counts related to the killing of more than 200 people, including 12 Americans, in the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. His lawyers have sought dismissal of the New York indictments on grounds that his right to a speedy trial was violated. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed confidence that the federal court will take into account the gravity of Ghailani’s alleged crimes and that federal prosecutors built their case against him without information gleaned from CIA or military interrogations.”
New York Times — 1 in 7 Freed Detainees Rejoins Fight, Report Finds
Depending on what the president says today about Guantanamo Bay, this leaked report from the Pentagon, picked up by writer Elisabeth Bumiller, will make things harder or easier.
The head of the FBI has already said he worries about bringing the bad guys here for trial, Congress has stripped funding for prisoner relocations and now a new report shows that one in seven of the 534 detainees already released from the tropical prison rejoins the fight against America and our allies.
There have been similar reports before, but the timing of ths one seems peculiar, indicating that the administration didn’t want the release at a later date to undermine the president’s evolving position.
“The report is the subject of numerous Freedom of Information Act requests from news media organizations, and [a pentagon spokesman] said he expected it to be released shortly. The report, a copy of which was made available to The New York Times, says the Pentagon believes that 74 prisoners released from Guantánamo have returned to terrorism or militant activity, making for a recidivism rate of nearly 14 percent.
The report was made available by an official who said the delay in releasing it was creating unnecessary ‘conspiracy theories’ about the holdup.”
New York Post – Chilling Terror Plot Thwarted
Some homegrown terrorists got busted for a plot to blow up a synagogue and then shoot down a military plane.
They seem to have been idiots, but will certainly remind American voters that there is a real threat from the Islamists and that not all of them are stupid.
“The jihadist wannabes — all from Newburgh, NY — began their unholy mission last night at around 9 p.m. at the Riverdale Temple on Independence Avenue, authorities said.
They planted what they thought were explosives in a parked car outside the house of worship.
One acted as a lookout, while the other three allegedly drove up the block to the Riverdale Jewish Center and planted two more bags of ‘explosives’ in cars.
Unbeknownst to them, their explosives were duds — supplied by authorities who had been monitoring their plan for more than a year.”
Washington Post — High Court Buzz Centers on Chicago Judge and Solicitor General
Writers Robert Barnes and Shailagh Murray provide a convenient distillation of the conventional wisdom on the Supreme Court vacancy – that Obama’s short list is down to Solicitor General Elana Kagan and appellate Judge Diane Wood.
Obama seems to be enjoying the process and creating the intrigues of rather ostentatiously bringing the ladies in waiting to Washington for interviews as if he were filling a vacancy on the University of Chicago faculty. But Obama may follow the lead of his predecessors and rather than making such a widely telegraphed choice, it may be a stealthier pick.
The president, despite an over-burdened congressional schedule and summer being nearly here, says he wants just a few more days before announcing the pick he wants on the court in 18 weeks.
“The timing of the announcement remains a mystery, although Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said Obama told him yesterday not to expect a decision before next week. Grassley is one of numerous senators on both sides of the aisle whom Obama has called in recent days to solicit names and other guidance on his first Supreme Court pick. A White House aide said the president has spoken to every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
But White House officials have warned that the timing is a moving target, contingent on when Obama makes up his mind.”
Bloomberg — Fed Officials Unconvinced Economy’s ‘Stabilization’ to Persist
At its last meeting, the Federal Reserve was optimistic that it’s moves to pump currency, buy bonds from Treasury and other moves had begun to end the recession.
But in the most recent meeting – the minutes of which are just out – the heads of the central bankers expressed alarm that the “green shoots” they once saw may be getting trampled.
One option on the table is to buy more Treasury bonds in an effort to improve lending conditions and allow the government to borrow more money overseas at more favorable terms.
With interest rates slashed and almost a trillion dollars in new currency sloshing around, though, inflation continues to stalk the prospects for a longer-term recovery.
“Government-bond yields declined after the report, indicating some investors expect the Fed to make additional purchases.
Yesterday’s minutes also updated economic projections from the 17 Fed policy makers, who forecast a deeper U.S. contraction than they foresaw in January, with a 9 percent unemployment rate lasting through the end of 2010.
Central bankers made their biggest cut yet to next year’s growth forecast, indicating the economy won’t rebound as quickly as previously anticipated. The jobless rate may remain as high as 8.5 percent in late 2011. The weaker forecasts are in line with changes to projections by private economists over the past few months.”
