Democrats adopt terror programs they criticized

NY Times:

Even as it pulls back from harsh interrogations and other sharply debated aspects of George W. Bush’s “war on terrorism,” the Obama administration is quietly signaling continued support for other major elements of its predecessor’s approach to fighting Al Qaeda.

In little-noticed confirmation testimony recently, Obama nominees endorsed continuing the C.I.A.’s program of transferring prisoners to other countries without legal rights, and indefinitely detaining terrorism suspects without trials even if they were arrested far from a war zone.

The administration has also embraced the Bush legal team’s arguments that a lawsuit by former C.I.A. detainees should be shut down based on the “state secrets” doctrine. It has also left the door open to resuming military commission trials.

And earlier this month, after a British court cited pressure by the United States in declining to release information about the alleged torture of a detainee in American custody, the Obama administration issued a statement thanking the British government “for its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security information.”

These and other signs suggest that the administration’s changes may turn out to be less sweeping than many had hoped or feared — prompting growing worry among civil liberties groups and a sense of vindication among supporters of Bush-era policies.

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What this really indicates is that Democrats exaggerated their differences with the Bush administration for political purposes. The harsh interrogations they condemned were very limited in number an scope and I believe given the same circumstances they would have done the same thing. It would be pretty idiotic not to try to wring information out of Khalid Sheik Mohammad. It fact it would have irresponsible. Equally irresponsible would be the failure to intercept enemy communications with their contacts in the US.

What Obama has done is put forth some moral preening at the expense of his predessor while keeping the ability to do the same thing.