Thanks, Cliff. For those interested in more on the al-Haramain case, I wrote about it here last summer.

I think it’s worth noting that Rush Limbaugh, the infamous crazy-person to whom, according to the president, we listen only at our great peril, has been saying for weeks that Obama would adopt Bush’s national-security policies — especially in the area of secrecy — because Obama wants to take advantage of these very policies. Where does Rush come up with this nutty stuff?

In all seriousness, though, I wouldn’t go up too high in the balloon over this. It is unquestionably true that classified information belongs to the executive branch, the branch with the institutional expertise to assess what disclosures would endanger the nation, and therefore federal judges — who have no such expertise — may not force the executive to reveal classified information. Courts, however, are deemed to have authority over judicial proceedings, and this gives them enormous leverage to pressure the executive branch to release such information.

On that score, the DC Circuit yesterday issued a disastrous ruling regarding what discovery Gitmo detainees are entitled to in the habeas corpus proceedings (i.e., the judicial reviews of the legality of detention) that the Supreme Court ordered in last term’s Boumediene debacle. There’ll be a lot more to say about this next week. For present purposes, though, I’d note that, sure, the executive branch is within its authority to tell the judges, “We refuse to disclose this or that classified information”; judges, however, will then be within their authority — according to what the Supreme Court has wrought — to tell the Justice Department, “Fine, then we vacate the designation of this detainee as an enemy combatant and direct that he be released forthwith.”

Suffice it to say, it’s nice to have the power to keep secret things that should be kept secret, but we will be revealing much more than it is safe to reveal because, if we don’t, judges will be springing jihadists left and right. Ostensibly to avoid this dilemma, expect the Obama administration to start transferring detainees to countries where they will be free to rejoin the jihad — like the administration has done with the terrorist Binyam Mohammed.

Our troops and intelligence agents have done a remarkable job of routing al Qaeda where we’ve let them. The war and our security are being lost in Washington.