Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Not Holding my Breath on Guantanamo


When the world is falling apart around you and you're already pissing off a large part of the folks who put you in office, it's wise to throw your political base a bone and make an overture at an issue that matters to them.

President elect Barack Obama is promising to shut down the army prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, which was created by the Bush administration in 2002 to detain suspected terrorists. Since then, the prison has become synonymous with torture and other violations of international law - at least in the minds of the press and those darned media elite.

Of course, Barack can't just go to Cuba and transfer detainees to the White House basement. Where are these people going to go? Some of these folks may very well be dangerous, though we know Gitmo more for its pioneering use of waterboarding than for its effectiveness in the war on terror.

The President elect admits that the facility won't just close overnight: "We're going to get it done, but part of the challenge that you have is that you have got a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom may be very dangerous, who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication."

Bla, bla, bla. Basically, Barack knows a lot of annoying ultra liberal people are clamoring for change and he's got to shut them up. So, yeah, he's going to shut down Guantanamo right after he fixes the economy and gives all US citizens equal rights. Don't worry y'all, he's an exception multi-tasker, remember?

2 comments:

Rob said...

though we know Gitmo more for its pioneering use of waterboarding than for its effectiveness in the war on terror.

And that's via the liberal media and lawyers raking in beau coup cash who chose to believe those trained to claim that they were "tortured". These are the same liberals who could give a royal rat's ass about how THEIR prisoners were treated.

Comrade Obama won't close Club Gitmo. The liberal media has recently discovered, thanks to an al-Qaeda Times story that there really are some nasty people being held there. In other words, the liberal media is giving Comrade O cover for when he does nothing about it.

This is the same liberal a-hole who will take credit for Bush's recent measures in Afghanistan and has been cleared to continue warrantless surveilance.

BTW, I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why any of the guests at Club Gitmo have to be charged and/or tried.

Anonymous said...

Five of my favorite things Barack Obama has done so far:

1) Announce the end of the era of torture with the shutdown of Gitmo.

2) Appoint Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor.

3) Piss off everybody, but especially GCL, by asking the right Reverend Rick Warren to speak at his inauguration.

4) Having a secret dinner with conservative talking-heads. Part of Obama's stated goal of transcending simplistic and unnecessary partisanship, and at just the pitch-perfect historical moment.

5) And fifth, according to an Obama advisor, today announcing that "Barack Obama will meet with high-ranking military officers to discuss the Iraq war, a conflict he has vowed to end after six years of fighting," as Obama has pledged.

What are your favorite Obama moves so far, GCL? Or are you just going to devote yourself, like the right-wingnutters and pouty Hillary losers, to being an Obama buzz killer for the next four years?

Hydrino