Guantanamo trials back on

Yet again, President Obama changes his mind

Barack Obama has had a change of heart—again. Just days after reneging on a promise to release the latest batch of detainee torture photos from Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. president is planning to resurrect the Bush-era tribunals for terror suspects jailed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama signed an executive order suspending the so-called military commissions on his third day in office, the same day he signed an order closing the infamous holding facility. But after a four-month review of what to do with the remaining 241 prisoners—including Canadian Omar Khadr—Obama has decided that bringing back the commissions is the best option. However, his staff insists that the updated system will include expanded due-process rights for the suspects. The American Civil Liberties Union is not impressed. “The military commissions are built on unconstitutional premises and designed to ensure convictions, not provide fair trials,” said executive director Anthony Romero. “Reducing some but not all of the flaws of the tribunals so that they are ‘less offensive’ is not acceptable; there is no such thing as ‘due process light.’ ”

CNN