McCain in 2005: Gitmo Detainees Deserve Trials Or Should Be Released

Added by Mark Nickolas

The shameless attempt by John McCain (R) to re-write his political history and philosophy to allow him to move to the right to placate his fringe base is amazingly audacious. It seems that every day or two we're met with a 180 degree flip-flop by McCain on a major issue that -- aside from how it's going to further eviscerate his image of being some principled maverick (what a joke that's become) -- shows a very amateurish operation that won't be capable of withstanding several hundred million dollars in paid media by Barack Obama (D) to fully educate the public on who this man has become.

Along those lines, while doing some research, I stumbled upon one of the biggest McCain flip-flops to date.

Recall last week how McCain lost his mind when the U.S. Supreme Court said that Guantanamo Bay detainees could not be detained indefinitely without charges and were entitled to ask a court for a hearing where the government would have to show why it was holding them, or that they be released. That fundamental procedure is called a writ of habeas corpus.

Last week, McCain blasted the ruling, disingenuously calling it "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country." Not surprising, this is yet another 180 degree lurch for McCain.

But look at what I found on Lexis/Nexis as I went through some old transcripts from the Sunday shows. It's from a McCain appearance on Meet the Press almost exactly three years ago on this very topic...giving a very different answer:

NBC News Transcripts
June 19, 2005 Sunday
SHOW: Meet the Press 10:00 AM EST NBC

MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to Guantanamo. In October--excuse me, December of 2003, "John McCain said he is concerned about the failure to move ahead with prisoners' trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ...`These cases have to be disposed of one way or another. After keeping someone two years, a decision should be made.'"

That was a year and a half ago. It's now been three and a half years. Should we close it?

SEN. McCAIN: I don't think necessarily. But I think the important thing is it's not the facility at Guantanamo, it's the adjudication of the cases of the prisoners who have been held there without trial or without any adjudication of their cases. So the frustration is not the fact we have a facility at Guantanamo, although that certainly becomes symbolic. The frustration is, is: What are we going to do with these people?

Now, I know that some of these guys are terrible, terrible killers and the worst kind of scum of humanity. But, one, they deserve to have some adjudication of their cases. And there's a fear that if you release them that they'll go back and fight again against us. And that may have already happened. But balance that against what it's doing to our reputation throughout the world and whether it's enhancing recruiting for people to join al-Qaeda and other organizations and want to do bad things to the United States of America. I think, on balance, the argument has got to be--the weight of evidence has got to be that we've got to adjudicate these people's cases, and that means that if it means releasing some of them, you'll have to release them.

Look, even Adolf Eichmann got a trial. I mean, these--we are signatories to numerous agreements on human rights, against torture, universal declaration on human rights, etc. So that means we have to do something with these people. And I hope we can move that process forward very soon.

Got that? McCain thought that providing these detainees with a real trial was so important that "if it means releasing some of them, you'll have to release them." Now he feigns outrage when the U.S. Supreme Court says that even these scumbags are entitled to know why they are being held, or released.

Given the grave importance to this country right now on things like the rule of law, constitutional rights, and terrorism, it's hard to fathom something more crucial that McCain could so casually flip-flop on. It's shameful. It's disgusting. And this manufactured political posturing is beneath the office for which he now seeks. There is almost nothing about McCain 2008 that resembles the candidate of 2000. He has truly morphed in an appendage of the Bush Administration.

Original here