Obama Defends Military Tribunals, Admits Gitmo Failure

Putting Together Evidence Against Detainees Can Be Hard, Notes President

Speaking today on a wide array of topics, President Barack Obama conceded his failure to get the detention center at Guantanamo Bay closed within a year of his taking office, despite making repeated pledges to do so. He insisted it was “not for lack of trying.”

Following this President Obama insisted that the American justice system is “strong enough” to convinct people but then launched into a defense of the military tribunal system on the basis that it is “very hard” to put together evidence against people.

Even though the government couldn’t assemble enough evidence for a conviction “we know that this person is guilty,” insisted Obama, saying that is what the military commissions system is for.

The rest of the speech jumped around on foreign and domestic policy comments, insisting that he’d still really like to see Osama bin Laden killed and that he remains optimistic about the Mideast peace process.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.