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| Obama tackles Guantanamo | |
| 2009-01-22 | |
| 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 |
| #9 Yes indeed, perfect irony. His first official action had nothing to do at all with the American people, but rather his mooslim friends at GITMO. Any questions as to where this man's loyalties lies? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-01-22 16:54 |
| #8 Agree with you RJim, Obama is an "Empty Suit", just a figurehead.-- "PRESENT" !! |
| Posted by: Tom- Pa 2009-01-22 14:42 |
| #7 As I see it, zeroman has been trained to follow orders, not think. |
| Posted by: Rednek Jim 2009-01-22 14:26 |
| #6 Not Iromic, brainless. |
| Posted by: Rednek Jim 2009-01-22 14:24 |
| #5 The executive order suspends trials. Ironic isn't it. |
| Posted by: mhw 2009-01-22 14:03 |
| #4 as long as the alternative to war crimes trials is summary execution, I have no objection to closing Gitmo. |
| Posted by: Herman Whons5753 2009-01-22 13:03 |
| #3 He wants to get ACLU lawyers for all the detainees and then stage their trials in San Francisco. Damn hackers. I had to use the back door. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-01-22 11:48 |
| #2 Oh dear God PLEASE do not turn the war on terrorism back into a law enforcement effort. No Miranda rights, no lawyers, no habeas corpus. Oh Lord can you imagine a young kid LT in Afghanistan having to read the Miranda rights to a sniper or a bomb maker ON THE BATTLE FIELD. I think all of the legalese the Left spouts at the war on terrorism is a state of denial of the fact that we have about 18 million nut jobs out there that want to kill us strictly because we exist and not because of anything we have done or belief. I hope he gets a grip on it quickly because any of the old Jamie Gorelick law enforcement mumbo jumbo will get a large chunk of our population killed. |
| Posted by: James Carville 2009-01-22 10:55 |
| #1 No second thoughts yet? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-01-22 08:07 |