Larry was on CNN lately, they gave him the first question, and either he blew it or else he does not understand the ramifications. They asked him if it mattered whether the terrorists were tried in military or civilian court and he said no as long as they were tried. This overlooks the legal salient differences between the two legal systems and the rights accorded to the accused. In fairness, Larry has been a harsh critic of the Bush Administration’s interrogation practices and there surely there is a rational basis for that position, even though I do not necessarily agree with it. But as you can see with the Detroit case, first the suspect was talking, then he lawyered up and he stopped talking consistent with his Miranda rights which are applicable in a civil court but not in a military tribunal. In other words it does matter.

But CNN also had its resident legal hack Jeffery Toobin on. And as you would expect, he agreed and went even further. I posted my response which incorporated the John Lehman article posted above by rgb44hrc. Here is what I said on Larry blog, if you are interested:

We have got some friends of ours who have gone from the blogs to appear on big media. Pauli who used to blog here, our friend Larry Johnson and lately Eric Erickson of Red State who is a conservative but shares many of our values–with notable exceptions. In each case it is interesting to see how entering that world affects them. Since these are solid people they generally tend to do okay.

Larry was on CNN lately, they gave him the first question, and either he blew it or else he does not understand the ramifications. They asked him if it mattered whether the terrorists were tried in military or civilian court and he said no as long as they were tried. This overlooks the legal salient differences between the two legal systems and the rights accorded to the accused. In fairness, Larry has been a harsh critic of the Bush Administration’s interrogation practices and there surely there is a rational basis for that position, even though I do not necessarily agree with it. But as you can see with the Detroit case, first the suspect was talking, then he lawyered up and he stopped talking consistent with his Miranda rights which are applicable in a civil court but not in a military tribunal. In other words it does matter.

But CNN also had its resident legal hack Jeffery Toobin on. And as you would expect, he agreed and went even further. I posted my response which incorporated the John Lehman article posted above. Here is what I said, if you are interested:

I have no respect for Toobin. He was and still is a shameless Obama shill, I think his legal analysis has a level of nuance and evasion to it that make me uncomfortable, but supports the narrative of CNN. Worse however he savaged Hillary at the end of the campaign.

In this instance, he is more interested in hammering on Bush than addressing the situation at hand. If he thinks we are in the same situation today that we were in during the Reagan administration then he is an idiot. I doubt he has read the 9/11 report. He lives in the same ivory tower that many law professors live in including the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Here is what one of the key members of the 9/11 commission has to say about the Obama Administration’s approach to terrorism in general and more specifically treating them like enemy combatants.

“After watching President Obama’s remarks on national security this afternoon, John Lehman, the secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration and a member of the 9/11 Commission, tells National Review Online that, “frankly, I’m pissed off.”

“President Obama just doesn’t get it,” says Lehman. “I don’t think he has a clue. It’s all pure spin. He’s ignoring key issues and taking respectable professionals like John Brennan and turning them into hacks and shills. It’s beyond contempt.”

“The president has ignored the 9/11 Commission’s report,” says Lehman. “This whole idea that we can fix things by jumping higher and faster is ridiculous. The fact is that the system worked just like we said it would work if the president failed to give the Director of National Intelligence the tools he needs: it’s bloated, bureaucratic, layered, and stultified.”

“President Obama continues to totally ignore one of the important thrusts of our 9/11 recommendations, which is that you have to approach counterterrorism as a multiagency intelligence issue, and not as a law-enforcement issue. He’s made a lot of commission’s members angry for dismissing our report and ignoring key recommendations.” Obama, he adds, has taken a “lawyer-like, politically-correct approach” to national security issues like terrorist watchlists and no-fly lists. “You got to blame the president for enforcing the politically-correct and legalistic policies that led to these failures.”

(Caveat: If you asked to decide who to believe–Lehman vs Toobin this is what you should know. Lehman is an American hero. In addition to serving on the 9/11 Commission, he was Secretary of the Navy while he was in his 30s.. In that role he built the 600 ship navy and was architect of the military strategy which defeated the Soviet Union although he would give the credit to others. He wanted to give Obama a chance but will not compromise the security of our nation to do it. By contrast, Toobin is a law professor. His client is CNN, His credentials on national security are to use an expression of an old law professor of mine long as a whores dream and bare as a goats ass.)

As you can see, I have not given up on Jim–yet.

Beck is really a fear monger with his national budget clock ticking away everyday.