Justice Department covers up the identity of its own lawyers

The Obama administration is more than willing to release classified records showing enhanced interrogation techniques used against terrorists. But the identities of taxpayer-funded lawyers at the Justice Department are strictly confidential.

Earlier this week, a conservative group headed by Liz Cheney unveiled a video asking the Justice Department to release the names of seven lawyers who had previously defended terrorist detainees. The Justice Department has only named two and refuses to go any further. This is a slap in the face to taxpayers and also a little scary. Conflicts of interest aren't kosher at the Justice Department, and that's when they just involve lobbyists. Any of these five anonymous attorneys could have defended and conferred with detainees who were members of al Qaeda or the Taliban. We're at war with al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The two names that have been released are Jennifer Daskal and and Neal Katyal. Katyal was a lawyer in the famous Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case. Daskal represented detainees collectively for the liberal group Human Rights Watch. If Eric Holder was willing to release those names, why not the other five? How much worse could they possibly be? What is the DOJ hiding?

Here's the video from Liz Cheney's group Keep America Safe:

Thank goodness: Obama appoints another Islamic envoy

BHO's State Department already has its own special envoy to the Islamic world, Farah Pandith. But that didn't stop the president from reaching into his radical Justice Department and pulling out another one.

His name is Rashad Hussain. He's a former trial attorney at DOJ (naturally) and, of course, he's a die-hard left-winger. Hussain said in 2004 that terrorism sympathizer, Sami al-Arian, was the victim of "politically motivated persecutions" and was being used to "squash dissent." Actually, Al-Arian had been sentenced to four years in prison for acting as one of the leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group responsible for the murder of more than 100 Israelis. Former attorney general John Ashcroft called the PIJ one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world. Al-Arian was also a university professor (yep, we were surprised too) as well as a PIJ terrorist.

So Barack Obama just appointed a terrorist sympathizer to represent America to the Muslim world. Then again, Hussain might fit in well. The group he's assigned to, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, is an alliance of Islamic nations that has declared "Islamophobia" to be the worst form of terrorism. Maybe Hussain can explain that to Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Or the panty bomber.

Barack Obama: Hopelessly dangerously wrong on Iran

Barack Obama's policy on Iran has been...well actually Barack Obama hasn't really had a policy on Iran. Now Iran has announced that they're going to start enriching their stockpile of uranium, no doubt to create nuclear bombs. Nobody seems to know what Obama intends to do about this, which isn't surprising. Obama's attitude towards one of the world's most dangerous nations has been careless and apathetic from the start.

-- As a senator in 2007, Obama voted against a bill merely to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. He then vilified Hillary Clinton for voting for the measure in a debate, foolishly saying, "This saber-rattling was a repetition of Iraq."

-- As a presidential candidate, Obama's plan for Iran was incredibly vague. He never revealed whether he would bomb Iran if they refused to stop building nuclear bombs. He prattled on about exercising the "diplomatic option," but never bothered to specify what that meant. Even the New York Times called his position on Iran "unclear".

-- In 2007, America's intelligence agencies released a National Intelligence Estimate claiming that Iran was no longer working on a nuclear program. Conservatives reacted by claiming that the NIE was rushed and inaccurate. Obama swallowed the NIE hook, line, and sinker, and demanded that the Bush administration stop talking tough with Iran. Last year, Iran proved definitively that it was still manufacturing nukes...and Obama stayed silent.

-- When Iran revealed it was still feverishly enriching uranium and started test-firing nuclear-capable missiles, Obama started talking about "consequences" and "sanctions." There are literally dozens of news articles from throughout 2009 reporting on Obama's empty threats. He repeatedly claimed to favor imposing new sanctions on Iran (that'll have Ahmadinejad quivering in his boots). To this day, absolutely nothing has been done.

-- When tin-pot Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rigged the Iranian election in 2009 so he stayed in charge, Tehran exploded in anger. Protesters filled the streets, only to be gunned down by the government. Obama sat on his hands, refusing to lift a finger -- or even say a few words -- to help the Iranian people. A few days later, Obama's press lackey Robert Gibbs disgracefully said Ahmadinejad was the president of Iran.

When a peaceful coup in Honduras threw out a corrupt Marxist leader who had already been voted from office, Obama refused to recognize the new president. But he's more than willing to let Ahmadinejad throw nuclear-capable missiles around. Forget hawks and doves -- can we just get a president who gives a damn about Iran, period?

Obama disowns another radical with a wink and a nudge

Barack Obama has become the master of a political two-step. Disown radical friends and business partners to the public while soothing their nerves in private.

Last week, SEIU union boss Andy Stern said that opponents of health care reform and card check like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson were "terrorists". Obviously Stern has been feeling the pressure as majorities of the American people turn against his radical liberal agenda. Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs firmly repudiated Stern's comments and said they "make no sense."

It's a pattern with this president. When his friendship with Bill Ayers surfaced during the campaign, he condemned Ayers. When his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright came to light, he gave an entire speech distancing himself. Then several months into his presidency, the White House guest list came out. Ayers and Wright were both on there. The newest offender, Stern, was the most frequent guest.

So the president may pretend to regret Stern's radical comments through his press flack. But no doubt the two of them will remain attached at the hip going forward.