No comment from our resident libbies and Obama sycophants. On Jan 23, 1:22 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[email protected]> wrote: > Obama's orders leave torture, indefinite detention intact > By Tom Eley > 23 January 2009 > > On Thursday, President Barack Obama issued executive orders mandating > the closure of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp in a year’s time, > requiring that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and military > personnel follow the Army Field Manual’s prohibitions on torture, and > closing secret CIA prisons overseas. > > While the media is portraying these orders as a repudiation of the > detention and interrogation policies of the Bush administration, they > actually change little. They essentially represent a public relations > effort to refurbish the image of the United States abroad after years > of torture and extralegal detentions and shield high-ranking American > officials from potential criminal prosecution. > > In cowardly fashion, Obama staged his signing of the orders in a > manner aimed at placating the political right and defenders of > Guantanamo and torture and underscoring his intention to continue the > Bush administration’s “war on terror.” He was flanked by 16 retired > generals and admirals who have pushed for the closure of the prison > camp in Cuba on the grounds that it impedes the prosecution of the > global “war” and reiterated in his own remarks his determination to > continue the basic political framework of the Bush administration’s > foreign policy. > > The continuation of the ideological pretext for wars of aggression and > attacks on democratic rights ensures that the police state > infrastructure erected under the Bush administration will remain > intact. This is further reinforced by Obama’s assurances that his > administration will not investigate or prosecute those officials-- > including Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and others—who were > responsible for the policies of torture and illegal detention. > > The orders signed by Obama do not undo the Bush administration’s > attacks on constitutional and international law. They do not challenge > the supposed right of the president to unilaterally imprison any > individual, without trial and without charges, by declaring him to be > an “enemy combatant.” Nor do they end the procedure known as > “extraordinary rendition,” by which the United States during the Bush > years kidnapped alleged terrorists and shipped them to foreign > countries or secret CIA prisons outside the US, where they were > subjected to torture. > > They do not affect the hundreds of prisoners--600 at the Bagram prison > camp in Afghanistan alone—incarcerated beyond the barbed wire of > Guantanamo. If and when Guantanamo is closed, the US government will > simply ship alleged terrorists caught up its international dragnet to > other American-run prison camps. > > On the question of so-called “harsh interrogation techniques,” i.e., > torture, Obama’s orders leave room for their continuation. White House > Counsel Gregory Craig told reporters the administration was prepared > to take into account demands from the CIA that such methods be > allowed. Obama announced the creation of a task force that will > consider new interrogation methods beyond those sanctioned by the Army > Field Manual, which now accepts 19 forms of interrogation, as well as > the practice of extraordinary rendition. > > Retired Admiral Dennis Blair, Obama’s nominee for director of national > intelligence, told a Senate confirmation hearing that the Army Field > Manual would itself be changed, potentially allowing new forms of > harsh interrogation, but that such changes would be kept secret. > > Obama also announced a second task force that is to consider the fate > of the 245 detainees remaining at Guantanamo. Earlier this week he > suspended the military commission procedures at the prison camp, but > has not abolished the military commissions themselves. > > The new administration has ruled out the only constitutional remedy > for those who have been held under barbaric conditions, without due > process, for years—either releasing them or giving them a speedy trial > in a civilian court, with all of the accompanying legal protections > and guarantees. There has been a great deal of speculation that the > administration may support the establishment of a special National > Security Court within the civilian court system to try Guantanamo > prisoners and other alleged terrorists. This would represent yet > another attack on civil liberties, setting up a drumhead court system > to railroad those charged with terrorism—something that could in > future be used to repress political opposition. > > According to NBC Nightly News on Thursday, the administration is > considering keeping some 20 Guantanamo detainees, including the five > alleged 9/11 conspirators currently facing military commission trials, > imprisoned indefinitely without charges in a military brig within the > US. > > Commentators have noted that the Obama administration wants to prevent > noncitizens detained as terrorists from being able to exercise habeus > corpus rights. > > Two separate measures taken Tuesday and Thursday by Obama point to a > further major consideration behind his moves to close Guantanamo and > finesse the issue of torture. On Thursday the administration requested > a stay in the habeas corpus appeal to the Supreme Court by the only > alleged enemy combatant now held on US soil—Ali al-Marri, of Qatar, > whom Obama has called “dangerous.” Al-Marri’s lawyers are challenging > the right of the president to arrest and jail individuals by declaring > them enemy combatants, and it was expected that the Supreme Court’s > hearing of the appeal would force Obama to reveal his position on the > issue. > > This followed Tuesday’s request for a stay from the Federal District > Court in Washington in similar appeals that could affect the cases of > more than 200 Guantánamo prisoners. > > Thus, the immediate effect of the new administration’s moves is to > halt civilian trials that could prove immensely damaging to the > government by revealing systematic torture of the detainees and could > potentially entangle high government officials. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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