Progress at Guantánamo

President Barack Obama's decision to permit military trials for some terrorism suspects detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, is a pragmatic move that makes the best of a bad situation.

Obama has been unable to keep his campaign promise to close the prison in one year. And now he's reversing one of his first presidential acts, which was to block military trials there. This change of policy, reflecting the political mood, might mean that cases against some of the 172 detainees may finally be resolved. However, the tougher question of what to do with detainees whose cases Obama said are unsuited for military trials remains unanswered.

The prisoners fall into three groups. The first group of about 80 is expected to face trial by military commission. These are the cases that can now move forward.

The second group of roughly 36 includes those the administration wants to try in civilian courts. But a November 2009 announcement of plans to bring suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to Manhattan for trial touched off a firestorm that stopped Obama's plans. Most elected officials from the metropolitan area opposed the New York trial and Congress has since blocked the transfer of any prisoners to the United States. Although Obama remains committed to civilian trials, that avenue is blocked.

The third group is detainees who won't be put on trial at all, probably for lack of usable evidence, but whom the administration insists are too dangerous to release. Officials announced new rules yesterday requiring review of their status within a year, and once every three years after that, to determine if they remain a threat.

That may be an improvement over previous review policies, but holding anyone indefinitely without charges or trial is downright un-American.

Resuming military commissions is a compromise step on the road to resolving the issues presented by the detentions at Guantánamo. But Obama's got a long way yet to go.