"Obama, The Constitution And Terrorists"

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, seen here on June 16, 2008, accused White House rival John McCain of "posturing" as the Republican, tapping voters' anxiety about sky-high fuel prices, called for offshore oil drilling.

A defiant Barack Obama said Tuesday he would take no lectures from Republicans on which candidate would keep the U.S. safer, a sharp rebuke to John McCain's aides who said the Democrat had a naive, Sept. 10 mind-set toward terrorism.

"These are the same guys who helped to engineer the distraction of the war in Iraq at a time when we could have pinned down the people who actually committed 9/11," the presumed nominee told reporters aboard his campaign plane. "This is the same kind of fear-mongering that got us into Iraq ... and it's exactly that failed foreign policy I want to reverse."

The rival camps engaged in a war of words Tuesday that echoed the 2004 presidential campaign in which President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other Republicans argued that Democratic nominee John Kerry was soft on terror, a claim that resonated with voters and helped propel Bush to re-election. Democrats complained that the GOP was using the politics of fear.

On his campaign plane, Obama told reporters that Osama bin Laden is still at large in part because President Bush's strategy toward fighting terror has not succeeded.

At issue were comments Obama made in an interview with ABC News Monday in which he spoke approvingly of the successful prosecution and imprisonment of those responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Obama was asked how he could be sure the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies are not crucial to protecting U.S. citizens.

Obama said the government can crack down on terrorists "within the constraints of our Constitution." He mentioned the indefinite detention of Guantanamo Bay detainees, contrasting their treatment with the prosecution of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.

"And, you know, let's take the example of Guantanamo," Obama said. "What we know is that, in previous terrorist attacks — for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center — we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated.

"And the fact that the administration has not tried to do that has created a situation where not only have we never actually put many of these folks on trial, but we have destroyed our credibility when it comes to rule of law all around the world, and given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, 'Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims. ...

"We could have done the exact same thing, but done it in a way that was consistent with our laws," Obama said.

Obama agreed with the Supreme Court ruling last week that detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have a constitutional right to challenge their indefinite imprisonment in U.S. civilian courts. McCain derided the ruling as "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country."

McCain aides criticized Obama for talking about using the criminal justice system to prosecute terrorists.

"Senator Obama is a perfect manifestation a September 10th mind-set ... He does not understand the nature of the enemies we face," McCain national security director Randy Scheunemann told reporters on a conference call.

Obama said Republicans could be counted on to do "what they've done every election cycle, which is to use terrorism as club to make the American people afraid to win elections." He said he didn't think it would work this time.

     In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision extending the right of habeas corpus to "enemy combatants" detained at Guantanamo Bay and the endorsement of that Supreme Court decision by Presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, the GOP and Senator John McCain are once again engaging in the "politics of fear", labeling Obama as "soft on terrorism". Senator Obama is a Constitutional scholar who, I am sure, realizes that holding to the principles of the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights, is what makes America great and good. In my opinion, even in the fight against international terrorists, America must fight within the boundaries of the Law, otherwise we are no better than the terrorists. The Bush Administration's way of waging the war against international terrorists only fans the flames of Islamic "jihad", creating more terrorists. Barack Obama promises to wage the war against international terrorists the true American way, with justice, technology and law enforcement effectiveness. Bush's "War On Terror" has failed, as I see it. Barack Obama represents a much needed change in philosophy, strategy and tactics in the war against international terrorists, in my opinion.

tags: barack obama  war on terror  terrorism  obama  america  war  warpeace  supreme court  john mccain  democrats  gop  mccain  the   constitution  politics  takebackamerica  2008  

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