Updated: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said closing the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was a “hasty decision,” in his daily press briefing with reporters. But he later backtracked in the briefing and clarified that he was referring to decisions made under George W. Bush.
The White house spokesman was asked whether it was a "mistake" to request the resources to close Guantanamo Bay without a plan.
"It was a mistake to set up something that became a rallying cry for enemies around the world and to hope for so long that we could simply continue to perpetuate the theory of keeping detainees there while the courts ruled otherwise," Gibbs responded.
"I don't doubt that the President--and I think he'll say this tomorrow--that we've made some hasty decisions that are now going to take some time to unwind. And closing Guantanamo Bay obviously is one of those decisions," he added.
But later in the briefing Gibbs was asked a follow up question on what looked like a startling admission. Gibbs said that he meant that the "hasty decisions" were made by the previous administration.
"And you said hasty," a reporter asked, “you talked about hasty decisions tomorrow, that it's going to take some time to unwind. Are you talking about the President's hasty decisions or the previous administration's hasty decision as it regards Guantanamo?”
"No, no, no, I'm sorry," Gibbs said. "My boss might want to know the answer to that. No, no, I'm discussing decisions that were made in the previous administration."
The reporter asked again, “You were not referring to the executive order?”
“No, no, no,” Gibbs said.
So either the White House spokesman misspoke or said too much. That’s for the public to decide. To some critics, Gibbs comment might evoke Michael Kinsley's famous political adage. Kinsley defined a gaffe in Washington as a moment when someone tells the truth.
Guantanamo Bay has become a political minefield for the president. President Obama’s decision to close the controversial detention center in the early days of his presidency was met with adulation on the political left and earned headlines in newspapers across the world. It was seen as a clear break from Bush-era national security policy.
But recently Obama has broken with liberals over his decision to continue Bush-era military commissions to try Guantanamo Bay prisoners and his decision not to release photographs allegedly depicting U.S. soldiers abusing detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq. To an extent, this split with the political left is indicative of the difference between campaigning and governing.
Gibbs’ gaffe Wednesday (Click here to see video) may have only further aggravated large portions of Obama's political base. Liberals rallied to Obama during the campaign in part because of his strong criticism of George W. Bush's "war on terror."
White House critics have long argued that closing Guantanamo Bay was one policy shift easier said than done.
Gibbs reversal, on what looked like a mega reversal, comes on the eve of a major national security speech by Obama. Obama is expected to address, in part, Senate Democrats' opposition to funding the closure of Gitmo. Democrats have withheld funding closure until the White House offers a clear plan on how the detention center will be shut down and importantly, where detainees will be sent.
The closure of Guantanamo Bay has quickly turned into a "not in my backyard" issue. No U.S. representative wants to explain why a Gitmo detainee was allowed to live in his or her district. In the same vein, Obama has found U.S. allies no more willing to accept detainees. France and Britain each accepted one former detainee. There are about 240 detainees at Guantánamo Bay and 30 are clear for release.
David Paul Kuhn is the Chief Political Correspondent for RealClearPolitics and the author of The Neglected Voter
By: David Paul Kuhn
President Obama decided to wedge himself in before a planned speech by former Vice President Cheney on Guantanamo Bay, Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, CIA Memos and American Safety. Obama had not definitive plan, came across as narcissistic kid or like he was still campaigning and attacked the Bush-Cheney White House no less than 28-times. This after he keeps saying that we (he) aren’t going to point fingers… HMMM… wonder when that is going to happen? Obama’s Speech came across as a pre-emptive unprepared rebuttal to Vice President Cheney’s Speech. He was talking from an 9/10 perspective… as if there were no danger.
Vice President Cheney, who would rather be fishing and hunting and has no political ambition or anything to gain from his president campaign, except to protect the American People came across as prepared and sincere. His speech was very informative, reminding us of the stakes and threats that the Bush White House was operating under after 9/11. He took responsibility, let us know that there were only 3-people water-boarded… one the engineer of 9/11, and reminded us that the results of the water-boarding saved us from an attack on Los Angeles.
After President Obama’s and Dick Cheney’s speeches today the work on Capital Hill continued unaffected. There was no additional discussion of funds to close Guantanamo Bay~
- Comments have poured in from 9/11 families and survivors thanking Vice President Cheney.
- CNN, a liberal network, just did a poll showing that President Cheney’s approval rating has increased by 8% since he has been speaking out over the past month.
- Vice President Cheney is still asking to have CIA Memos declassified to support his position. Obama refuses… The memos that were released were redacted and left out the results of the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.
Also released today…
- 1 out of 7 released Guantanamo Bay releasees goes back to anti-American terrorist activities
- Under the Clinton Administration and others, torture was outsourced to Egypt and other countries… and it wasn’t water-boarding.
Related Resources:
- Obama vs. Cheney...
- Click here to read the transcript of Dick Cheney's national security speech at the American Enterprise Institute.
- CIA denies Cheney request to declassify memos
- Cheney Says: Obama Endangers the Nation
- Obama Defends Reversal on Releasing Detainee Photos
Posted: Knowledge Creates Power
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