Obama Eyes ‘Preventive Detention’ System

by Jason Ditz
President Seeks Legal Basis to Hold People Who Can't Be Charged With Any Crimes

During a 90 minute meeting with human rights advocates today, President Barack Obama said that he was considering coming up with some sort of “preventive detention” system which would provide him a legal basis to detain suspects as a threat without having to charge them with any crimes.

The meeting was intended to be “off the record,” but some of the participants left seriously concerned that the president, who only last week resumed the long criticized system of military tribunals for suspects at Guantanamo Bay, was now looking for ways to hold people legally without having to present any evidence of wrong-doing.

President Obama will be delivering a 35-minute national security speech tomorrow at the National Archives. He is expected to address his plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, though today Press Secretary Robert Gibbs lauded the effort of Senate Democrats to block funding for the closure.

Last week the president made a shocking number of moves to roll back what few positive changes he had made from the previous administration. It seems now that this was only the tip of the iceberg, and that the Obama Administration will continue on the path of using the war on terror as an excuse to take ever more liberties with, well… liberties.

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