Obama to announce new military commissions

US President Barack Obama has fresh plans to revamp and restart tribunals for a handful of Guantanamo detainees. This time around, though, he promises new legal protection.

Obama described the changes as paving the way for a "legal forum" to prosecute terror suspects. He also asked Congress to change a 2006 law that created the current mechanism to help enact more sweeping reforms.

The decision indicates a u-turn for Obama, as he revives a trial system he once said was deeply flawed and opposed when he served in the Senate. Reaction has so far been mixed, with Navy Lieutenant Commander Brian Mizer expressing disappointment.

Brian Mizer said, "It is disappointing. President Obama during the campaign said that this process was a failure, I think by any measure it has been a failure and I think what is particularly disappointing is the fact that the government is now openly stating that the reason that it is reviving the Commission's process is because it is going to be hard to obtain convictions in traditional courts and this would be the first time in our republic that we have created a court system to obtain convictions."

"Our founding fathers created a system of justice that has endured for over 200 years and there is nothing unique about this threat that requires fake courts applying laws that did not exist at the time these events allegedly took place."