Fred Thompson has just barely entered the race, but he’s already stepped in it. First the candidate painted Osama bin Laden as an irrelevant figure, but later said he had to be “caught and killed.” Then, after more reflection, he said bin Laden should get due process, which an aide later defined as Gitmo-style interrogation.

AP:

“No, no, no, we’ve got due process to go through” depending on the circumstances, he said. “I’m not suggesting those things happen simultaneously.”

Later, a Thompson spokesman explained that Thompson meant “the same rules ought to apply to him as to everyone at Guantanamo Bay, and there ought to be due process thru a special military court or commission.”

“For anyone to suggest that we shouldn’t squeeze out every last bit of intelligence information has absolutely no understanding how to fight a long term global war on terrorism,” spokesman Todd Harris said. “It would be very dangerous for the long-term security of our country to not try to milk bin Laden for every ounce of information he has.”

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#fred thompson#guantanamo bay#osama bin laden#politics#terrorism