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Obama tackles Guantanamo
US President Barack Obama yesterday began the job of hauling his crisis-weary nation out of its "winter of hardship" by taking action to halt Guantanamo trials and convening top economic and foreign policy aides.His first move came in the form of an order to prosecutors at the controversial military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, seeking a suspension of the trial proceedings.
The president basked in a wave of jubilation at a singular moment of US history on Tuesday, vowing to remake America after he was sworn in as the first black president before a stunning crowd of an estimated two million people. After waltzing into the night with wife Michelle at 10 inaugural balls, the president was expected at a multi-denominational national prayer service called to bestow blessings on his administration at Washington National Cathedral. But a daunting line-up of meetings with top economic and military aides loomed, including top US war commander General Petraeus, with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the plummeting economy on a full plate of issues following a Wall Street free fall. In one of the first full moves of his presidency, Obama late Tuesday issued a document to prosecutors at military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, seeking a suspension of trials of war on terror suspects. Obama on Tuesday night also ordered last-minute regulations signed by his predecessor, George W Bush, to be put on hold. And Obama promised that on his first day in office he would give his military commanders a new mission - to end the war in Iraq. More than 140,000 US troops are still stationed in Iraq, five years after an invasion, which the new president consistently opposed. President Obama has promised to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months - and the Iraqi government has said that US forces are welcome to leave before the 2012 deadline set at the end of last year. Posted by: Fred 2009-01-22 |
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