President-elect Barack Onama is eyeing on an order to close the U.S militart prison at Guantanamo Bay. This is a possibility to be decided on the initial week of Obama to show deviation from Bush administration’s approach to the was on terrorism.
Transition officials stated that it would be keeping Obama’s promise last campaign elections. The decision to shut down the prison will be pushed through through an exectuive order.
“The president-elect has repeatedly said the legal framework at Gitmo has failed to successfully and swiftly prosecute terrorists,” said one of the officials close to the transition, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private deliberations.
“It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize and we are going to get it done, but part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom who may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication,” as what Obama said on ABC’s “This Week” last Sunday when inquired whether he would close the prison in his immediate transition.
“I think it’s going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak, to help design exactly what we need to do,” Obama said.
“But I don’t want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution,” he said.
The Guantanamo Bay Prison is a major issue in the past since it has become a symbol of mismanagement in US’ campaign towards war on terrorism
At his final White House press conference on Monday, President Bush was asked whether the military prison and harsh interrogation tactics have damaged America’s standing in the world. iReport.com: What should Obama do first?
“I strongly disagree with the assessment that our moral standing has been damaged,” Bush said. “It may be damaged amongst some of the elite. But people still understand America stands for freedom; that America is a country that provides such great hope.” (cnn.com)
