Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Gitmo

Over the past week, a lot of media attention has been given to the inaugural proceedings. The exuberant price, the parties, the guests, the speeches and poems, and of course the fact that history was about to be made. It is now 1/21/2009. The parties are over and the street cleaners in D.C. are questioning their career choice. However, I believe the true entertainment has only just begun.

Within 24 hours of becoming the President of the most powerful nation on the planet, President Obama has ordered to delay the prosecutions of the prisoners at Gitmo. An executive order draft has also been making its way around the White House which would call for the closing of Gitmo withing a year. Besides putting the prosecutions on hold, the order also calls for the release of approximately 60 detainees. However, according to a CNN report, officials cannot find any countries willing to accept these "innocent men." I mean really, who wouldn't want suspected terrorists living in their country. Perhaps we'll see Obama give them a banquet at the White House for all of their troubles.

Although I suppose I should at least look at this from Obama's viewpoint. He does have the support of the ACLU, which as we all know has the same intelligence operations as the CIA and Pentagon. Kidding aside, Obama has already sought to weaken the national security efforts put into place by Bush. I really do not have that many good things to say about the Bush Presidency, but one thing I can say is that Americans were safe while he was president. Biden may have been correct during the campaign when he said that the world was going to test the Obama administration, but that doesn't mean that Obama has to make it so easy.

3 comments:

  1. There's some strategy in your language here. What some people call "prosecutions," other people call "torture." The underlying issue, from the perspective of Obama and the ACLU, is whether non-American citizens incarcerated in American prisons should be afforded the same legal protection as natural born citizens (you know, pesky things like due process, evidence, open hearings, adequate representation, food, rights).

    Also, one might ponder the cost of Bush's safety--whether the kinds of tactics used in Gitmo haven't undermined our status with the rest of the world. Our status in international relations has never been so low--the hatred intensified by Bush's international policies might take years to fully grow into bombs, poisons, or planes.

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  2. Rarely do I receive an e-mail that is worth reading. However, an e-mail I just received was brief enough that I read it. It has all the characteristic of the political whining that crosses my life. Read the content for yourself.

    Headlines On This Date 4 Years Ago:
    “Republicans spending $42 million on inauguration while troops Die in unarmored Humvees"
    "Bush extravagance exceeds any reason during tough economic times"
    "Fat cats get their $42 million inauguration party, Ordinary Americans get the shaft"
    Headlines Today:
    "Historic Obama Inauguration will cost only $120 million"
    "Obama Spends $120 million on inauguration; America Needs A Big Party"
    "Everyman Obama shows America how to celebrate"
    "Citibank executives contribute $8 million to Obama Inauguration"

    Here is list of questions I have. Where is the depth of investigation, the critical thinking, and the facts? Should I expect more from the media outlets? Why is this important to me? Just think of this as another form economic stimulus (bail out money). Could we have more than sound bites? Should I be concerned when neither political party has shown to be fiscally responsible? I am just trying to stir up some dialog.

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  3. President Obama did in fact call for the delay of “prosecutions” in one of his first orders. “Torture” was addressed in a separate order. Those pesky little legal protections are afforded to citizens of the United States, not foreign enemies. What has to be done to protect American citizens should be done, no matter the cost.

    Fortunately for us, Bush was never concerned with popularity ratings. Our status in the world was rather high on the afternoon of September 10, 2001, and we all know how well that status worked out for us; 3,000 plus dead the next day on American soil. Perhaps we should have shown the terrorists our popularity ratings.

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