The military commission system is not perfect. But instead of being honest about these challenges, the Obama administration has tried to have it both ways — appealing to the opponents of military commissions by granting war criminals federal trials, whilst availing itself of them when convenient. 

This kind of hypocrisy has become a feature of Obama's counterterrorism policies: he has retained and even increased the use of drone attacks, extraordinary rendition, detention without trial and warrantless surveillance, practices he unreservedly condemned under the Bush Administration. 

Rather than establish a clear and sustainable legal architecture for the ongoing war, these inconsistencies create conflicting and corrosive precedents. By empowering the Attorney General to grant federal trials in some cases but not others, the government may be seen as undermining the very fair trial standards it claims to champion.