Ethics

Obama and Indefinite Detention

By Ed Brayton

There are reports that the Obama administration is getting ready to put out an executive order allowing indefinite detention of some of the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

Obama administration officials, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, are crafting language for an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Obama advisers are concerned that an order, which would bypass Congress, could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.

After months of internal debate over how to close the military facility in Cuba, White House officials are increasingly worried that reaching quick agreement with Congress on a new detention system may be impossible.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).