Attorney General Mukasey
The Senate appears poised to approve the nomination of Michael Mukasey for the cabinet position of Attorney General. The question of water boarding has been finessed with the impression that Mukasey would be inclined to swallow our two top Chicken Hawks’ rationale for why they need this un-American torture technique. This is probably a meaningless issue except when Bush and Cheney are prosecuted for crimes against humanity they will claim a legal opinion to justify some of their acts. The reason this is meaningless is that the issue ultimately is decided by the supreme court should the Senate and House fail to legislate an end to this procedure.
Mukesey appears to be a no nonsense person who will be able to tell the difference between a Karl Rove initiative and a non-partisan administration of justice. There is not much time left in the Bush debacle so I would not look for any flashy initiatives. A steady non-partisan hand will be just fine.
There is one issue, however, that may prove contentious. Robert Gates and other sane minds are moving the Administration closer to closing Guantanamo detention center. Since the Government has little or no case against most all the prisoners, they all will likely be moved to US soil (buying time) and would then become eligible to use the US Courts. How hard Mulkasey plays this game could determine whether these people continue to be treated unfairly or whether he quietly enables their release and extradition. (By now it must be clear that insurgents are like the ocean, you detain or kill some of them and like magic, more will just keep on coming).
