Democrats in the United States just can't seem to get on the same page on national security and it could cost them dearly on an issue Republicans have dominated for decades.

Barack Obama AP PHOTO

Increasingly, U.S. President Barack Obama and Democrats who run Congress are being pulled between the competing interests of party liberals and the rest of the country on Bush-era wartime matters of torture, detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists.

The Democrats' struggle over how to position the party on these issues is threatening to overshadow Obama's ambitious plans for energy, education and health care. It's keeping the country looking backward on eight years of George W. Bush's term, much to the chagrin of the White House. And it's creating an opening for an out-of-power GOP in an area where Democrats have made inroads.

Governing from the center and backtracking on a previous position, Obama decided May 13 to fight the release of photos that show U.S. troops abusing prisoners. The president said he feared the pictures would "further inflame anti-American opinion," and endanger U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Then May 15 he decided to resume military tribunals for some Guantanamo detainees after a temporary suspension. "This is the best way to protect our country while upholding our deeply held values," he said.

The developments riled liberals who are important campaign-year foot soldiers and fundraisers.

"These recent decisions are disheartening," said Jameel Jaffer of the American Civil Liberties Union. "He has shown backbone on some issues and not on others."