By DAVID B. RIVKIN JR. and LEE A. CASEY, in the Wall Street Journal

Dec. 2, 2015 6:51 p.m. ET

Two days after terrorists rampaged in Paris, the Obama administration announced that it had transferred five prisoners—including a former Osama bin Laden bodyguard—from the U.S. prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United Arab Emirates.

In the past several days, the White House has signaled that a more significant step is coming soon: the complete shutdown of the facility and the transfer of the remaining detainees—there are 107 at the moment—to sites on the U.S. mainland. Obama-administration surrogates say the president will effect the change by using his favorite tool, an executive order. But this would be utterly illegal, since Congress has specifically prohibited the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil.

Although the president’s war powers are broad and formidable, so are those of Congress. In particular, the Constitution specifically vests the legislative branch with the powers to “declare War”; to “raise and support Armies”; to “make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water”; to “make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces”; and to appropriate funds for all of these purposes. Read more »

David Rivkin joins Frank Gaffney on Secure Freedom Radio to talk about Ali Musa Daqduq, a Hezbollah fighter that was dispatched to Iraq on behalf of the Iranian government and in 2007 he kidnapped, brutality tortured and killed five American soldiers. U.S. forces have since apprehended him and the Obama Administration is ready to hand him over to the Iraqi government who will undoubtedly give him to the Iranians where he will be hailed a hero. At first, Obama wanted to bring him to America and try him in a civilian court and when Congress denied that request, the president wanted to try him in a military court in South Carolina, but for obvious security reasons that was quickly dismissed. Obama will not send him to Guantanamo Bay and therefore is willing to release him instead of upsetting his liberal base. Where is the logic in releasing an enemy combatant instead of sending him to a military detention center? Obama is so against Guantanamo Bay that he is willing to release a man who tortured and killed five American servicemen, what are Obama’s priorities?