{"id":2144,"date":"2009-05-08T15:34:03","date_gmt":"2009-05-08T19:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2144"},"modified":"2009-05-08T15:34:03","modified_gmt":"2009-05-08T19:34:03","slug":"debra-burlingame-the-president-isnt-sincere-about-swift-and-certain-justice-for-terrorists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/08\/debra-burlingame-the-president-isnt-sincere-about-swift-and-certain-justice-for-terrorists\/","title":{"rendered":"Debra Burlingame: The President isn’t Sincere about ‘Swift and Certain’ Justice for Terrorists."},"content":{"rendered":"

Debra Burlingame has must read Op Ed in today’s Wall Street Journal<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In February I was among a group of USS Cole and 9\/11 victims’ families who met with the president at the White House to discuss his policies regarding Guantanamo detainees. Although many of us strongly opposed Barack Obama’s decision to close the detention center and suspend all military commissions, the families of the 17 sailors killed in the 2000 attack in Yemen were particularly outraged.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the Cole families have seen justice abandoned by the Clinton administration and overshadowed by the need of the Bush administration to gather intelligence after 9\/11. They have watched in frustration as the president of Yemen refused extradition for the Cole bombers.<\/p>\n

Now, after more than eight years of waiting, Mr. Obama was stopping the trial of Abu Rahim al-Nashiri, the only individual to be held accountable for the bombing in a U.S. court. Patience finally gave out. The families were giving angry interviews, slamming the new president just days after he was sworn in.<\/p>\n

The Obama team quickly put together a meeting at the White House to get the situation under control. Individuals representing “a diversity of views” were invited to attend and express their concerns.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 6, the president arrived in the Roosevelt Room to a standing though subdued ovation from some 40 family members. With a White House photographer in his wake, Mr. Obama greeted family members one at a time and offered brief remarks that were full of platitudes (“you are the conscience of the country,” “my highest duty as president is to protect the American people,” “we will seek swift and certain justice”). Glossing over the legal complexities, he gave a vague summary of the detainee cases and why he chose to suspend them, focusing mostly on the need for speed and finality.<\/p>\n

Many family members pressed for Guantanamo to remain open and for the military commissions to go forward. Mr. Obama allowed that the detention center had been unfairly confused with Abu Ghraib, but when asked why he wouldn’t rehabilitate its image rather than shut it down, he silently shrugged. Next question.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it, read it all and share it with your friends and family… This is a column everyone should read. The sad reality is that much of the work done by the Bush Administration to protect this country from another terrorist act is slowly being undermined by a bunch of naive ideologues who will ultimately leave us vulnerable to attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debra Burlingame has must read Op Ed in today’s Wall Street Journal: In February I was among a group of USS Cole and 9\/11 victims’ families who met with the president at the White House to discuss his policies regarding Guantanamo detainees. Although many of us strongly opposed Barack Obama’s decision to close the detention […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,193],"tags":[631,57,669,1373],"class_list":["post-2144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","category-war-on-terror","tag-9-11","tag-barack-obama","tag-debra-burlingame","tag-war-on-terror","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-yA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":750,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/12\/lest-we-forget-uss-cole\/","url_meta":{"origin":2144,"position":0},"title":"Lest We Forget: USS Cole","author":"Jeff","date":"October 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"It was 8 years ago today that USS Cole (DDG-67) was attacked by terrorists in Aden, Yemen. 17 sailors lost their lives in the bombing. Eternal Father, Strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep; O hear\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Military"","block_context":{"text":"Military","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/military\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/020809-n-6641e-502-235x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1182,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/23\/big-shoes-to-fill\/","url_meta":{"origin":2144,"position":1},"title":"Big Shoes To Fill","author":"Jeff","date":"December 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"In a little less than a month Barack Obama will take the oath of office and become the 44th President of the United States. In some respects he's going to have some pretty big shoes to fill... From the Wall Street Journal: The President Comforts a Marine Mom By William\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4646,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/26\/bumps-in-the-road\/","url_meta":{"origin":2144,"position":2},"title":"Bumps in the Road","author":"Jeff","date":"September 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBut I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road because, you know, in a lot of these places the one organizing principle has been Islam.\u201d -- President Obama in an interview with \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d When I originally posted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Affairs"","block_context":{"text":"International Affairs","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/international-affairs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/RAMFNLclr-092612-bumps-IBD-.jpg.cms_-595x408.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/RAMFNLclr-092612-bumps-IBD-.jpg.cms_-595x408.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/RAMFNLclr-092612-bumps-IBD-.jpg.cms_-595x408.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1298,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/04\/harry-reid-george-bush-the-worst-president-weve-wver-had\/","url_meta":{"origin":2144,"position":3},"title":"Harry Reid: George W. Bush ‘the worst president we’ve ever had’","author":"Jeff","date":"January 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"From CNN's Politcal Ticker blog: As the nation prepares for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, a leading Democrat is not letting up in his criticism of President George W. Bush. \u201cI really do believe President Bush is the worst president we\u2019ve ever had,\u201d Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2128,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/07\/no-criminal-prosecution-for-torture-memo-authors\/","url_meta":{"origin":2144,"position":4},"title":"No Criminal Prosecution for ‘Torture Memo’ Authors?","author":"Jeff","date":"May 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"It appears that the Bush Administration lawyers who authored the so called 'torture memos' are going to escape prosecution, the Justice Dept. will instead refer them to State Bar Associations for disciplinary action: The Justice Department said it is nearing completion of an internal probe that is expected to recommend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4658,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/27\/breaking-us-officials-knew-libya-attack-was-terrorism-within-24-hours\/","url_meta":{"origin":2144,"position":5},"title":"Breaking: US Officials Knew Libya Attack Was Terrorism Within 24 Hours","author":"Jeff","date":"September 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Fox News this morning is confirming an earlier report from Eli Lake that US officials knew within 24 hours of the September 11th attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya that led to the death of ambassador Chris Steven was terrorism: U.S. intelligence officials knew within 24 hours\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Affairs"","block_context":{"text":"International Affairs","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/international-affairs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}