How much important information about terrorist organizations, their activities and plans to harm the United States will be denied to this country’s security officials because of plans President Obama circulated Wednesday to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and halt the prosecution of those imprisoned there?

Like it or not, this country is at war. Those in our armed forces are facing severe dangers and possible loss of life. Our enemies want to do anything they can to hurt this country. And yet, Obama plans to halt any prosecution of Guantanamo prisoners, consequently losing possible important, life-saving information that might be discovered if the prosecutions could continue.

This comes at a time when some Democratic lawmakers think it is a greater priority to try some senior members of the Bush administration for supposedly serious crimes. In their minds, it’s more important to prosecute Bush aides than suspected terrorists.

It’s a strange, politically motivated sense of priorities.