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Liz’s new gig

Conservative firebrand Liz Cheney has a new gig.

(Corrected paragraph:) She’s started a 501(c)4 with Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol that focuses on national-security issues, called Keep America Safe.

(Corrected paragraph:) The 501(c)4 made its debut Tuesday with a video on its Web site, KeepAmericaSafe.com, targeting President Obama for what it regards as several national-security failures: not committing to a strong missile-defense program, not outlining a winning strategy in Afghanistan and not protecting CIA interrogators from prosecution.

(Corrected paragraph:) “Not enough [time] for a decision, but plenty of time for Letterman, golf, a beer summit, more golf, a vacation and a visit to Copenhagen,” a narrator says while happy photos of Mr. Obama engaging in these activities flash across the screen.

Detainee spotlight

The Keep America Safe PAC has more than President Obama on its mind.

Also on its Web site, KeepAmericaSafe.com, is a “Detainee Spotlight” with a photo and biography of a featured Guantanamo Bay detainee.

The person currently highlighted is Riduan bin Isomuddin, known as “Hambali.” He helped Khalid Shaikh Mohammed orchestrate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and helped plan bombings in Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2002 and 2003.

He is now considered a “high-value” detainee at the detention facility at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Legal problems

House and Senate Democratic leadership recently announced an effort to start bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States for the purpose of being tried in a U.S. court, an action that would open a Pandora’s box of legal problems, according to the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, told The Washington Times in a phone interview that once a detainee is on U.S. soil he is considered a “U.S. person” and could pursue constitutional rights.

“They could go to their attorneys and say we weren’t read our Miranda rights and should be released, which is unreasonable in a battlefield environment,” Mr. Smith said.

He’s tried to raise this issue on multiple occasions by writing letters and proposing legislation, but doesn’t feel like the White House has considered the legal ramifications of bringing detainees into the U.S.

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