Playing Games at Gitmo

[backpasture]

I'm guessing you wouldn't want to place a wager on whether Gitmo is still open for business one year after Obama is sworn in, would you? I'll cover you on that one.

Hew, FYI. Here is the executive order:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_...ionFacilities/

Key sentence:
"The detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order. "

Another executive order requires interrogators to follow the Army Field Manual. (That means no more waterboarding. Sorry, torture fans!)

The rule of law is back.

[Hew]

Hew, FYI. Here is the executive order:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_...ionFacilities/

Key sentence:
"The detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order. "

Another executive order requires interrogators to follow the Army Field Manual. (That means no more waterboarding. Sorry, torture fans!)

The rule of law is back.

Oh, good. Then you should have no qualms accepting my bet. Name the price. Maybe some Florida citrus or seafood put up against whatever it is Vermont is famous for...do they bottle that oh-so-famous Vermonter charm and friendliness?

But before you make any wager you might want to read some excerpts from the White House's first presser:

QUESTION: Robert, how can you say the executive order on Guantanamo Bay -- you can say clearly made America safer today, when it doesn't seem like you really have a plan yet about where the detainees are going to go?

GIBBS: Well, one of the -- I think one of the things that the commission and one of the things that the executive orders does is begin the process whereby the current administration can examine what exactly is going on and who exactly is there. ...

That's why I was careful in saying that the process by which this will undertake over the course of up to one year will determine, as Greg laid out, who's involved in what status of detainee, which group that they're involved in, and ultimately study how best to -- to deal with them in a way that protects our country, protects our values, and administers justice.

QUESTION: So these are terror suspects, and the American people are hearing, "Washington's going to study it." They're going to find out for a few more months, what are we going to do with these detainees? So what...

GIBBS: Well, it is day two. ...

QUESTION: No, but he was talking about it on the campaign for months, on Guantanamo Bay.

QUESTION: But the bottom line is that you've been talking about it -- the president talked about it on the campaign trail. People have studied this for a long time. And you're now signing the executive order without a plan for where the detainees will be. What assurances can you give the...

GIBBS: No. No, we've signed an executive order to establish the plan for what happens.

QUESTION: But what assurance can you give the American people that these detainees just won't wind up out on the streets, won't go back to their home countries and launch new terror attacks?

GIBBS: I can assure them that that -- all of -- all of what you just enumerated will be undertaken and studied as part of a commission to look into these very complex, very detailed questions.

AND THIS:

QUESTION: Just so the American people have an understanding, if, for example, U.S. forces were to capture Osama bin Laden or someone less well known, but of operational significance, are they to understand, the American people, that only the Field Manual and the Field Manual only will be the interrogation method used to interrogate a target as valuable potentially as Osama bin Laden or someone of that operational significance?

GIBBS: Well, as it relates to your first question, let me get some guidance from -- from Greg and members of the NSC.

As a blogger wrote: "Today's executive order can charitably be described as meaningless, but it illuminates the least attractive side of Barack Obama: his tendency to combine self-righteousness with lack of seriousness."

One year. Closed. Kaput. Ghost town. The betting window is still open.

[Hew]

I letter went back and read the executive order that was linked by Backpasture and something jumped out at me. Read this part closely:

Sec. 2. Findings.

(a) Over the past 7 years, approximately 800 individuals whom the Department of Defense has ever determined to be, or treated as, enemy combatants have been detained at Guantánamo.

See anything funny? Actually, funny isn't really appropriate. A freakin' typo in one of your first, and certainly most important, executive orders?!? This is the president who is going to return competence to government?

[backpasture]

Oh, good. Then you should have no qualms accepting my bet. Name the price. Maybe some Florida citrus or seafood put up against whatever it is Vermont is famous for...do they bottle that oh-so-famous Vermonter charm and friendliness?

But before you make any wager you might want to read some excerpts from the White House's first presser:


AND THIS:


As a blogger wrote: "Today's executive order can charitably be described as meaningless, but it illuminates the least attractive side of Barack Obama: his tendency to combine self-righteousness with lack of seriousness."

One year. Closed. Kaput. Ghost town. The betting window is still open.

You're on. 1/2 gallon of VT maple syrup. I have little doubt that Gitmo will be shuttered within a year. And, I would expect there to be a plan in place as to how to handle those detainees within a few months. I know we are used to having a President with knee-jerk reactions, so it may take you some to to get used to someone who values well-informed decisions over instant gratification.

As 'a blogger' wrote:
"In addition to the obvious points, it's also worth noting Obama's claim that he wants to win the war on terror "on our terms". One of the maddening aspects of the Bush administration's policies in this area was that they so consistently accepted al Qaeda's terms instead of creating their own. This was not just morally repellent, but stupid: in addition to sacrificing a whole lot of good will throughout the world, it made our actions a lot more predictable, and a lot easier to take advantage of. "

Yes, I can also find 'a blogger' here and there that agrees with me, too.

If you throw a rock these days, you will probably hit a blogger. So, throw it hard.

/The Great State of Vermont will not apologize for its cheese!

[K.Bullock]

Oh, good. Then you should have no qualms accepting my bet. Name the price. Maybe some Florida citrus or seafood put up against whatever it is Vermont is famous for...do they bottle that oh-so-famous Vermonter charm and friendliness?

But before you make any wager you might want to read some excerpts from the White House's first presser:


AND THIS:


As a blogger wrote: "Today's executive order can charitably be described as meaningless, but it illuminates the least attractive side of Barack Obama: his tendency to combine self-righteousness with lack of seriousness."

One year. Closed. Kaput. Ghost town. The betting window is still open.

That is what troubles me about Obama, if it sounds good say it, if it looks good do it, are not sound leadership principles. He does not take into account the consequences of his words or actions. It seems like he thinks he will simply cross that bridge when he gets there. This is exactly what our country does not need right now.

[Captain Mike D]

This links with the discussion very well.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28800516