Michelle Malkin » Obama to re-brand “enemy combatants”

Obama to re-brand “enemy combatants”

By Michelle Malkin • March 13, 2009 04:26 PM

Well, it was only a matter of time. The Obama administration has decided to abandon the term “enemy combatants” to describe the jihadi suspects at Guantanamo Bay. Makes sense. After all, Attorney General Eric Holder’s former law firm has been calling the Gitmo detainees by a different name for a while now: Clients.

Let the re-branding begin. Bucktown Dusty suggests the DOJ will start calling them “Undocumented Protagonists” ; suicide bombers will be “Next Life Enablers.” Send me your suggestions.

Via WaPo:

The Obama Administration today dropped the term “enemy combatant” to describe those held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and increased the legal threshold needed to detain them.

The Justice Department disclosed the move in a court filing in response to a federal judge’s order seeking a definition of the term “enemy combatant.”

Judges have said the definition will play a key role in determining whether the government has justified the confinement of scores of detainees who are challenging their status in U.S. District Court.

In a break with the Bush Administration’s policies, the Justice Department said it would only seek to detain those who “substantially supported” the Taliban, Al Qaeda or associated forces or participated in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Bush Administration had argued it could detain those who provided support to those groups and others “engaged in hostilities” against the United States and its allies.

The Justice Department did not define “substantially supported” in the court papers but said the term would not include those who “provide unwitting or insignificant support” to terror groups. “The particular facts and circumstances justifying detention will vary from case to case,” they wrote.

Though dropping the term “enemy combatant” will have little practical effect, it is a symbolic move by the Obama Administration to break with the past.

Posted in: Gitmo

Printer Friendly

comments (192)

trackbacks (22)

See what others have said

Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.

Trackbacks

Trackback URL

Comments

« Older Comments

#649481

On March 16th, 2009 at 12:59 am, Cosmo said:

Why don’t we just call them what they are:

d-bags
a-holes

human waste

Why all this semantic two-stepping?

But please, Mr. Obama, do not call them “moderates”.
#650983

On March 17th, 2009 at 11:40 am, ITookTheRedPill said:

I realize this post is all but dormant at this point, but here is a closing thought:

How many people who call themselves Christians would be able to recite the same prayers as the enemy combatants at Gitmo?

You know, those prayers that start with multiple repetitions of “Allahu Akbar”?

Barry Soetoro-Obama can.
With a first-rate accent.

The Adhan is the Islamic call to prayer, and begins with four recitals of the words “Allahu Akbar“ ([translated] “Allah is The Greatest”), followed by two recitals each of
[translated] “I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah” and
[translated] “I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.

Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent.In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it’ll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”
#651040

On March 17th, 2009 at 12:14 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

Obama’s “family friend” referred to our country as “Amerikkka“, and his “pastor” of 20+ years (who preaches Marxist “Black Liberation Theology” and is good friends with Louis F@rr@kh@n) referred to our country as “U.S. of KKK A“.

Why don’t the BDS-inflicted people “connect the dots” on this stuff?

There’s an enemy combatant usurping the oval office.
#683503

On April 21st, 2009 at 9:03 pm, RabbidSquirrel said:

Beat me to it…

I was going with “Undocumented Allies”
#683505

On April 21st, 2009 at 9:08 pm, RabbidSquirrel said:

suicide bombers will be “Next Life Enablers.” Send me your suggestions.

Matter Redistribution Facilitator?
#683524

On April 21st, 2009 at 9:28 pm, RabbidSquirrel said:

Holy #@$%@#$%@#% I’ve been posting to a month old thread LOL LOL

I wondered why no one had been on since 12:14 on a funny topic…