Bush's 'Secret'

If memory serves -- actually, I looked it up -- it was The Washington Post's Dana Priest who disclosed nine months ago that terror suspects were being interrogated at secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe.

This brought her lots of outrage, from the Bush administration and conservative critics. (Oh, and there was a Pulitzer, too.) Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert demanded an investigation, and a House committee launched one. Justice was notified as well, and the inevitable leak investigation was launched. The gist of the indictment: How dare a reporter and a newspaper undermine the war on terror by disclosing what the administration was doing with taxpayers' dollars?

Well, it took awhile, but yesterday President Bush confirmed the story. Used it in a speech. Some might even say used it as political ammunition. Now, apparently, with the five-year anniversary of 9/11 approaching -- not to mention the midterm elections -- it's okay to talk about secret prisons, at least if your initials are POTUS.

Now obviously the secret about secret prisons was already out when Bush made yesterday's speech, but the turning of the tables is still fascinating.

"President Bush yesterday announced 14 high-profile terrorist suspects -- including the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks -- have been transferred from CIA custody to the Guantanamo Bay detention center for prosecution, the first time the president has acknowledged the existence of CIA-operated secret prisons for high-priority detainees" says the Boston Globe .

An NYT analysis: "In calling for public war-crime trials at Guantánamo Bay, President Bush is calculating that with a critical election just nine weeks away, neither angry Democrats nor nervous Republicans will dare deny him the power to detain, interrogate and try suspects his way.

"For years now, Guantánamo has been a political liability, regarded primarily as a way station for outcasts. By transforming Guantánamo instead into the new home of 14 Qaeda leaders who rank among the most notorious terror suspects, Mr. Bush is challenging Congress to restore to him the authority to put the United States' worst enemies on trial on terms he has defined.

"But the gambit carries with it a potential downside by identifying Mr. Bush even more closely with a detention system whose history has been marked by widespread accusations of mistreatment."

An LAT analysis: "When President Bush on Wednesday urged Congress to provide him new legal authority quickly to bring suspected terrorists to trial, he may have answered a political riddle: what issue would Republicans use to sharpen their contrasts with Democrats over national security in the approaching mid-term election.

"Bush's push for new legal authority could reshape the legislative landscape on the question of trying terrorists and inject a volatile new dispute into the 2006 election, analysts say."

John Hinderaker objects to the coverage in this Power Line post:

"The Associated Press headlines: 'Bush Acknowledges Secret CIA Prisons'. The AP's account begins: