From the Seattle Times:

(Picture of Obama signing the executive order allegedly closing the Gitmo prison)

Obama restarts Guantanamo trials

President Barack Obama approved Monday the resumption of military trials for detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ending a two-year ban.

It was the latest acknowledgement that the detention facility Obama had vowed to shut down within a year of taking office will remain open for some time to come. But even while announcing a resumption of military commission trials, Obama reaffirmed his support for trying terror suspects in U.S. federal courts – something that’s met vehement resistance on Capitol Hill.

“I strongly believe that the American system of justice is a key part of our arsenal in the war against al-Qaida and its affiliates, and we will continue to draw on all aspects of our justice system – including Article III courts – to ensure that our security and our values are strengthened,” the president said in a statement.

Mind you, these trials have nothing whatsoever to do with the “American system justice”: these are MILITARY trials held in front of a MILITARY tribunal under orders from a Commander in Chief with a vested interest in finding them guilty, without a jury and with no recourse to the protections of the United States Constitution or US law.

Never mind the fact that the United States Supreme Court ruled that these military tribunals were unconstitutional back in 2006. And never mind the fact that this follows Obama’s already broken promise to close Gitmo within a year of his taking office.

Typical Obama trajectory: condemn Bush II’s policies on the campaign trail, turn wishy-washy after taking office, then quietly (when possible) adopt them as his own.

The only thing a Republican would have done differently in this case is not wait two years before continuing the same illegal course of action.