Following up on Adam’s reference from yesterday, Barack Obama raised the ire of the far-right a month ago when he described how he’d like to see Osama bin Laden brought to justice. As Obama explained it, if bin Laden were captured alive (an unlikely scenario in its own right), Obama would want a deliberate, transparent process: “I think what would be important would be for us to deal with him in a way that allows the entire world to understand the murderous acts that he’s engaged in and not to make him into a martyr.”
The RNC and the McCain campaign were — or, at least pretended to be — outraged. McCain told reporters in a written statement: “Let me be clear: Under my administration Osama bin Laden will either be killed on the battlefield or executed. Sen. Obama’s failure to comprehend the implication of the Supreme Court decision he embraced and the historical precedent of Nuremberg raise serious questions about judgment and experience and whether Sen. Obama is ready to assume the awesome responsibilities of commander in chief.”
As of yesterday, McCain apparently believes Obama was right in the first place.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked McCain what a McCain administration would do with bin Laden if he were captured alive. “Of course you put him on trial,” McCain said. “I mean, there are ample precedents of — for that. And it might be a good thing to reveal to the world the enormity of this guy’s crimes and his intentions, which are still there and he’s working night and day to destroy everything we stand for and believe in. ”
Pressed for details, McCain added, “We have various options, but the Nuremburg trials are certainly an example of the kind of tribunal that we could move forward with.”
In other words, McCain is now proposing the kind of legal mechanism McCain blasted as outrageous a month ago.
And just to add to the irony, McCain’s comments come one month to the day after the McCain campaign’s in-house blogger, Michael Goldfarb, argued Obama was trying to “have it both ways on” how the U.S. should treat bin Laden.
It has to be tough working for McCain. He changes his tune so often, it’s hard for his staffers to sing along.
And as long as we’re on the subject of McCain and bin Laden, this exchange from the CNN interview was also interesting.
BLITZER: Let’s talk a little bit about some national security issues. You’re president of the United States, you’ve vowed that you will capture Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Now we know that President Bush since 9/11 has been doing the best he can. What would you do differently?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I’m not going to telegraph a lot of the things that I’m going to do because then it might compromise our ability to do so. But, look, I know the area, I have been there, I know wars, I know how to win wars, and I know how to improve our capabilities so that we will capture Osama bin Laden — or put it this way, bring him to justice.
I’m sorry, but these are not the words of someone who deserves to be taken seriously. McCain can’t really expect Americans to believe he has a secret plan to get Osama bin Laden, which he won’t share with the Pentagon or the current commander in chief. This is just madness.
McCain can get bin Laden because he “knows the area”? First, McCain has never been to the lawless area in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The notion that his familiarity with the region will help him bring OBL “to justice” is a child-like fantasy.
Second, if his geographic expertise is so extensive, why does he think Iraq shares a border with Pakistan?
Those who find McCain credible on national security issues just aren’t paying attention.