“enormously unpopular (in the US) step” Enormously unpopular with who? The Left has been demanding scalps for years - particularly among the political leaders involved in that decision - VP Cheney, President Bush, and the other political appointees involved in the decision making process. Some on the Left wouldn’t have minded throwing in those who actually engaged in the interrogations themselves, but the Administration has cut that part off.

As it stands, everything Obama says comes with an expiration date, and in this instance, it means a further politicization of national security. It also hamstrings those who are on the front lines since it needlessly exposes them to second guessing by the chattering classes who have seemingly forgotten that hamstrining intel gathering directly leads to problems for US national security and undermines our abilities to find threats before they can be carried out.