Make no mistake...

President Bush announced yesterday that he is moving several CIA "secret prison" detainees to Guantanamo Bay so that they can "face justice". Some may be surprised to hear this, but I actually agree with the "secret prison" program. Yes, it is below level, but at the same time, we are dealing with people who don't recognize any rules - so we may need to make some minor adjustments from time to time in order to keep a competitive edge over these fuckers. So long as we eventually bring those people to justice through appropriate channels, and don't just let them rot away in that "secret prison", then perhaps we need some advantage like this in intelligence-gathering.

Here is what we should make no mistake about... Bush did not transfer these prisoners to Gitmo with the hopes of having them face true U.S. justice, or because he suddenly had a change of heart on the entire approach. Remember, there have been people detained in Gitmo for years without any due process. Rather, he transferred them there simply for political reasons; to leverage what will happen over the next two months for Republican party gain.

See, now that these terrorists are in Gitmo, the debate must begin on how to properly prosecute them and conduct trial within the rule of law. As you probably know, Bush has submitted several proposals over the past few months detailing new "military tribunals" that he would like to conduct to prosecute these terrorists, "enemy combatants", and related suspects. Congress has ruled, however, that these tribunals go against basic Constitutional trial law. But now that the prisoners are in Cuba and waiting to be tried, Bush has gone back to Congress asking them to provide guidance on prosecution methods. Of course, his suggestion is still "military tribunal" and he is now pressing Congress to make quick decisions on whether these tribunals, or some altered version, should be held. When Democrats refuse the pressure and take a step back to carefully assess the situation (which they should, since we are talking about precedence on trial law) and determine whether there are better options than unconstitutional tribunals, Bush will accuse them of being weak on national defense - and therein give his troubled Republican congressmen something to run on in November.

Of course, the flip side is Democrats recognize this tactic and dodge it. But dodging it means making hasty decisions and approving those unconstitutional tribunals - and naturally this is also a win for Bush, and perhaps his more immediate goal.

With a win-win political situation at hand, make no mistake about his intentions. He does not care about delivering justice, or about constitutional protections. He only cares about maintaining power.

The power that allows him to pull shit like this over you and me!