Like the recent case of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, are the pending courts-martial of three US Navy SEALs for allegedly punching captured terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed, the purported planner of the 2004 Fallujah killings of four Blackwater security guards, another case of political correctness displacing common sense?

In Hasan’s case, fear of accusing a Muslim officer of highly questionable behavior allowed him to escape the scrutiny common sense dictates he should have gotten before it was too late. Now, many suspect that fear of detainee-abuse allegations may have led to charges against the SEALs that are not warranted.

The Obama administration's actions on Nidal Malik Hasan and Khalid Shiekh Mohammed confuse our men and women in uniform.

At a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing chaired by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I. RI.), Mr. Walid Phares, an expert on Islamic jihad at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, regarding whether Hasan was a terrorist or not, testified; "It will be 'terrorism' per Obama's team only if it is proven that there was a terror organization or a regime involved." Apparently, Hisan's emails to al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki are not sufficient to demonstrate Hasan's desire to become a member of al-Qaeda.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked Attorney General Eric Holder, “Can you give me a case in United States history where an enemy combatant caught on a battlefield was tried in civilian court?” Holder responded, “I don't know. I'd have to look at that. I think that, you know, the determination I've made . . .” Before Holder could finish his sentence Graham interjected, “We're making history here, Mr. Attorney General. I'll answer it for you. The answer is no.”

Graham went on to tell Holder that his policy was confusing our soldiers on the ground. What were they supposed to do when they captured another terrorist on the battlefield, question him for intelligence information or read him his Miranda rights.

Has the Obama administration really thought through their policies with regard to the Fort Hood shootings and punishing the people behind the 9/11 attacks? You'd have thought that Eric Holder should have known the answer to Sen. Graham's question; and you'd think they'd understand that Hasan is a terrorist. Their actions in both cases only confuse our men and women in uniform who fight terrorism and embolden our terrorist enemies.

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For a while it appeared that Democrats would resist the overwhelming desire of those on the far left of their party to investigate members of the George W. Bush administration, including the president, the vice president, and the CIA. President Obama quickly realized what a bad idea that was when he saw the reaction to his release of top secret Bush administration memos on CIA interrogation techniques. He said he wanted to look forward, not backward.

Apparently, however, the temptation has proven too great. Now, Democrats want to investigate Cheney and the CIA over a statement by current CIA Director Leon Panetta that Cheney directed the CIA not to brief Congress on a program to assassinate al-Qaeda leaders after 9/11 that credible sources say was never operationalized. At the same time, Attorney General Eric Holder is seriously considering appointing a special prosecutor to investigate CIA personnel who may have gone “too far” in their interrogations of terrorist detainees. Like all special prosecutors, once empowered, he won’t stop there.

Wise heads in both the Democratic and Republican parties understand that pursuing these investigations might satisfy those who believe Bush, Cheney, and many people in their administration are war criminals, but it will do more damage to Democrats than to Republicans. Those who suffer from Bush/Cheney-derangement syndrome already think that way. They don’t need an investigation to confirm what they believe.

Fair-minded Americans, however, don’t what to see any US presidential administration prosecute its predecessor for what amounts to policy and political differences. President Obama is already losing airspeed and altitude with his out-of-control spending that isn’t curbing unemployment. Investigations of Bush, Cheney, and the CIA will only drive his approval numbers lower and lose more seats for Democrats in the House and Senate in 2010.

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According to Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, Director Leon Panetta, in a classified briefing, told them he had terminated an eight-year-old program not previously briefed to them because former Vice President Cheney directed the CIA not to. They immediately demanded an investigation into the program and Cheney's role, making accusations they could not back up with out revealing classified information.

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden reacted angrily. He said that he personally kept "top members" of Congress well-informed during his tenure. House Republicans charged that all House Democrats were doing was trying to give Speaker Nancy Pelosi political cover for her accusations that the CIA routinely lied to Congress after she denied receiving a CIA briefing on waterboarding.

Also we learned that Attorney General Eric Holder is considering appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's CIA interrogation practices, in contradiction to President Obama's stated desires.

Because we don't know the details of the program Panetta briefed to Congress and we don't know if CIA interrogators broke any laws, it's appropriate for a bi-partisan group of investigators reporting to the House and Senate Intelligence committees to conduct a classified look into these matters. According to Senator Diane Feinstein on Fox News Sunday, they are. If they discover any wrongdoing they can refer it to the Justice Department.

Democrats are taking big risks at the CIA's and the nation's expense if they continue to make this a public political issue and if Holder appoints a special prosecutor. Americans want their CIA to protect them from terrorist attacks, not constantly deterred from doing their job for fear of recrimination. They also expect the CIA to conduct its activities within the law, but they don't want to see it handcuffed and fog-marched in public before it's convicted.

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