In the past week, a series of thorny national security issues -- all dating back to the Bush era -- has clearly frustrated Team Obama. First, the president angered liberals and human-rights groups when it announced it was opposing the release of those detainee photos. Then his administration said it was keeping the controversial military tribunals, although with some revisions. And now congressional Democrats have rejected Obama's funding request to help close Guantanamo Bay.
These things all set up Obama's big speech tomorrow on Gitmo and national security. But get ready for a fascinating national security showdown tomorrow, because Obama isn't the only one speaking on Thursday. Dick Cheney gives a speech tomorrow -- about an hour or so before Obama's -- at the American Enterprise Institute, a neoconservative think tank. No doubt Cheney will try and respond to the criticisms the Obama administration and other Democrats have been leveling at the former vice president and other Republicans.
Of course, Obama's speech comes with a lot of expectations. Many in Washington are already expecting him to somehow calm the critics down on both the left and right with a speech that 1) makes a clearer case why his administration doesn't want to look backwards on interrogations; 2) why Gitmo has to be closed; and 3) and where the Gitmo detainees should be moved.
Just Askin': By the way, we have this one question for the GOP straw-man argument on Gitmo:
Is living near a prison with CONVICTED rapists or murderers safer than living next to a prison with SUSPECTED terrorists?
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