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Obama's Justice nominees signal break with Bush counterterrorism policies
Miami Herald ^ | Jan. 5, 2008 | Greg Gordon

Posted on 01/05/2009 8:12:20 PM PST by FocusNexus

In filling four senior Justice Department positions Monday, President-elect Barack Obama signaled that he intends to roll back Bush administration counterterrorism policies authorizing harsh interrogation techniques, warrantless spying and indefinite detentions of terrorism suspects.

The most startling shift was Obama's pick of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen to take charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, the unit that's churned out the legal opinions that provided a foundation for expanding President George W. Bush's national security powers.

Johnsen, who spent five years in the Office of Legal Counsel during the Clinton administration and served as its acting chief, has publicly assailed "Bush's corruption of our American ideals." Upon the release last spring of a secret Office of Legal Counsel memo that backed tactics approaching torture for interrogations of terrorism suspects, she excoriated the unit's lawyers for encouraging "horrific acts" and for advising Bush "that in fighting the war on terror, he is not bound by the laws Congress has enacted."

(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bho2008; bhodoj; bhogwot; bohica; clintonistas; dawnjohnsen; islam; nationalsecurity; obama; obamatransitionfile; rendition; stealthjihad; terrorism; wot
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Actions speak louder than words -- Obama is demonstrating clearly, by his appointments, that he has more sympathy for the terrorists, than the innocent, gullible America people who elected him president of the US.

How can any sensible person wish that Obama succeeds, is beyond me. Do we want him to succeed in completely destroying the US, including killing innocent Americans, because he doesn't want to interrogate the terrorists, to prevent attacks on us?

1 posted on 01/05/2009 8:12:21 PM PST by FocusNexus
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To: FocusNexus

Testimony of Dawn Johnsen before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution: http://judiciary.senate.gov/pdf/08-04-30Johnsen - Dawn - testimony.pdf

“Outrage at the Latest OLC Torture Memo,” by Johnsen: http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/04/03/outrage-at-the-latest-olc-torture-memo.aspx


2 posted on 01/05/2009 8:14:21 PM PST by FocusNexus
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To: FocusNexus

I want the birth certificate issue settled before he takes the oath. If he is an imposter it should be known before hand. Not that Biden or the Red Queen would be any better. They all want this country to fail.


3 posted on 01/05/2009 8:16:58 PM PST by celtic gal
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To: FocusNexus
he has more sympathy for the terrorists, than the innocent, gullible America people who elected him president of the US.

I no longer believe they are "innocent and gullible".

The Sheep are Leftists - they are accessories to the crimes about to be committed, and are as guilty of seditious actions as The One (piss be upon him) and all his minions.

They intentionally gave The One (his name be pissed) all this power over them, because they love him. They have broken faith with their country and what's left of the descendants of the American Revolution.

4 posted on 01/05/2009 8:17:14 PM PST by Old Sarge (For the first time in my life, I am ashamed to be an American)
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Johnsen, who spent five years in the Office of Legal Counsel during the Clinton administration....

Another re-tread. Rahm, Podesta, Richardson, Hillary, Holder, etc., etc.....

5 posted on 01/05/2009 8:19:48 PM PST by Henchster (Free Republic - the BEST site on the web!)
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To: celtic gal

I do not think the BC issue will be resolved in the next two weeks, if it ever will be, so dont get your hopes up about that. It may end up being an issue that dogs him like a nagging toothache until it is resolved one way or the other.


6 posted on 01/05/2009 8:20:26 PM PST by Canedawg (Why couldn't he have just tried out for the Olympics like all the other Kenyans?)
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To: FocusNexus
It's been over 7 years since the Islamofascists have been able to attack America. Our counterterrorism guys have halted too many of their planned attacks on this country. The terrorist guys put a lot of time and effort into planning their attacks on America and these counterterrorism guys keep screwing everything up. It's about time the people who want to kill us are given a break. They have constitutional "rights" too ya know!!!

extreme sarc/off

7 posted on 01/05/2009 8:20:35 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (For more information on America's "new direction" read The Road to Serfdom. by Friedrich A. Hayek.)
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To: FocusNexus

Leniency to terrorists becomes a death sentence to innocent Americans.


8 posted on 01/05/2009 8:22:14 PM PST by Enterprise (No Presidency for illegal aliens from Kenya.)
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To: FocusNexus

Great...back to the Clinton policies that allowed the 9/11 cells to sit here for years. Some even training for their mission on US soil.


9 posted on 01/05/2009 8:22:40 PM PST by 5thGenTexan
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To: All
The only interrogation technique allowed to get information from terrorists, under Obama:


10 posted on 01/05/2009 8:23:59 PM PST by FocusNexus
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To: Old Sarge
The Sheep are Leftists - they are accessories to the crimes about to be committed, and are as guilty of seditious actions as The One (piss be upon him) and all his minions.

The reason for the "unity" and "goodwill" we all felt after 9/11 is because liberals, like many foreigners, love the idea of America prostrate and wounded.

It was all sympathy and sorrow for the victims, but not a whit of righteous anger and resolve.

I'll admit that I was fooled briefly, and thought I was seeing the latent patriotism that I was sure every American had, somewhere.

11 posted on 01/05/2009 8:25:07 PM PST by Trailerpark Badass (Happiness is a choice!)
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To: FocusNexus

Goodie. More do-gooders = more terror-doers. Nice knowing you’all.


12 posted on 01/05/2009 8:26:25 PM PST by arkady_renko
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To: FocusNexus

want to bet the outraged Dawn Johnsen, set to release hard core terrorists back into their preferred killing fields of western cities and airports, will not travel by commercial air?

“for security reasons”

of course


13 posted on 01/05/2009 8:28:53 PM PST by silverleaf (Fasten your seat belts- it's going to be a BUMPY ride.)
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To: FocusNexus
You nailed it with your post. Amen. Some short sighted conservatives and freepers here have fallen for the superficial stuff the false messiah has done but have failed to grasp his big picture.
14 posted on 01/05/2009 8:30:55 PM PST by utahson
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To: FocusNexus
Hell, we didn't need to elect Hillary, to have all the old Clinton yahoos back in town.

up next ...Jamie Gorelick

15 posted on 01/05/2009 8:33:58 PM PST by stylin19a ( Real Men don't declare unplayable lies)
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To: FocusNexus

...well what can I say? Terrorists will get better legal protection than ANY American citizen charged with ANYTHING.

Have a nice day and keep voting Democrat. :)


16 posted on 01/05/2009 8:34:13 PM PST by Tzimisce (http://groups.myspace.com/nailthemessiah)
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To: FocusNexus
We're screwed, folks.

Screwed.

17 posted on 01/05/2009 8:40:19 PM PST by Gritty (The GOP has no political warriors. None are willing to fight liberalism's premise.-Rush Limbaugh)
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To: FocusNexus
From a capsule bio:

She served in the Department of Justice under President Bill Clinton as the Acting Assistant Attorney General heading the Office of Legal Counsel from 1997-1998, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 1993-1996. From 1988-1993, Johnsen was the Legal Director for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (now NARAL Pro-Choice America).

So, the new policy is free the terrorists and kill the babies. How nice.

Here she is:


18 posted on 01/05/2009 8:50:24 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: FocusNexus

Maybe if they ask the terrorists real sweet like, they’ll tell them all they want to know.

Seriously, the military won’t even bother trying if they know nothing will come of capturing them. Right?


19 posted on 01/05/2009 9:03:39 PM PST by autumnraine
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To: FocusNexus

In the most recent rankings of the Senate, Obama was #1, THE most liberal, Biden was #3. I presume the other 8 are well represented in The One’s Cabinet - anyone know their identities, rank and new jobs?


20 posted on 01/05/2009 9:06:19 PM PST by Rembrandt
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