Paul Greenberg
How much time, do you suppose, has
His not very acceptable explanations began even before he was confirmed as attorney general. That's when he was quizzed about his role in approving a pardon for
Having earned his stripes, Mr. Holder was promoted to attorney general in the next Democratic administration. The other day, he took responsibility for the decision to treat the suspect in the
The attorney general was at pains last week to explain that none of the other federal agencies charged with protecting the national security had objected to his decision. Of course they didn't. The best way to assure that others won't object to a decision is not to ask them about it in the first place.
To justify his decision, General Holder points out that
This may be the first time on record that a member of
Naturally, the current attorney general felt no need to go into detail, and note that the shoe bomber was taken into custody within a year of the
What a contrast with the sensible position Mr. Holder's boss took when he appeared on "60 Minutes" last spring, when hope in this administration was still high. Here's what
General Holder seems unaware that his own
As the
General Holder did not explain why he turned this suspect over to the criminal justice system -- with all the rights, privileges and delays appertaining thereto -- after only 50 minutes of questioning by the FBI. Or why, if military commissions aren't the way to try such defendants, he plans to turn a number of our guests at Guantanamo over to military commissions on the mainland.
Among other excuses for his course in this case, the attorney general offered this defense: "There is no court-approved system currently in place in which suspected terrorists captured inside
Mr. Holder's predecessor as attorney general,
In summary,
- Crying Wolf on the Web
- First Choose Your Future War, Then Choose Your Weapons
- The Struggle for Free Speech in the 21st Century
- Partisan Rancor Follows Terrorism Announcement
- Political Partisanship: Accentuating the Negative
- Planned Bipartisan Summit Just an Infomercial in Disguise
- Bipartisan Healthcare Summit: You've Got to Give a Little
- Singing 'Kumbaya' on Health Care Reform
- Use 2009 Tax Return To Guide 2010 Financial Strategy
- IRS Cracks Down on Fraudulent Tax Preparers
- Standard Deduction Will be Higher For Many Taxpayers
(C) 2010 Paul Greenberg