Obama Versus Cheney

Wow. Who would have thought Dick Cheney's political career would still be going? As much as we despise him, you have to like his passion for standing by his convictions. This man is really angry about the way President Obama is handling the national security and rightfully so. Cheney was the architect behind our post September 11th policies. Within a matter of weeks, if not days, Obama destroyed 80% of them.

Today, we had dueling speeches from both Vice President Cheney and President Obama stating their cases for and against the post September 11th policies. Both speeches gave compelling arguments for their stances. Obama pointed out that the 20th hijacker was prosecuted in the criminal courts. Cheney mentioned September 11th twenty plus times.

In my opinion, both missed the point. We have an international publicity issue coupled with a national security issue that is rooted with the worst terrorist attack on American soil in history. There are terrorists housed at Guantanamo that other nations refuse to take. The Guantanamo terrorists are not American citizens that have rights under the United States Constitution. Besides, these are people who want to destroy our Constitution and way of life.

How do we address the issue? Bringing the terrorists to the United States for trial in our criminal court systems will afford them rights that they have not earned. Who wants a Super Max prison in their neighborhood much less one that houses some of the most evil people on the planet? Leaving the terrorists at Guantanamo, on the other hand, leaves us with an international black eye which Obama is trying to fix.

Last week the President stated he is willing to continue with the military tribunals in a modified fashion. I am still trying to figure out the modified part considering the terrorists where allowed access to lawyers, the ACLU, and the American Red Cross under President Bush. Yes, the tribunals are slow, but this is because of the sensitivity of the classified documents. Besides, the right to a speedy trial is only afforded under the Constitution and these terrorists are not privy to the same rights I was born under and uphold as a citizen. Before you bash me, I know the Supreme Court said they have a right to habeas corpus. We also cannot send them to the international courts without the possibility of exposing our intelligence gathering secrets to other countries.

Maybe we can gather all of the families who lost a loved one on September 11th and lock them in a room with one terrorist at a time. We can give them the evidence for each prisoner and let them decide the fate. I suspect the terrorists would be sent to a grave before the decision is ever made.

Ultimately, President Obama is going to have to decide which is more important: our national security or our popularity in the world. We know where Dick Cheney and Bush stand on the issue.