I'll close down Guantanamo in two years, says Obama (Torture okay for two years more)

[Robbien]

Source: This is London

BARACK Obama has said he plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre and mark a "clear end" to torture in the US within two years of becoming president.

The president-elect told Time magazine he hopes to restore the balance between US security needs and the country's constitution.

In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Obama listed a series of benchmarks his team had set during his presidential campaign. Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years, he said: "On foreign policy, have we closed down Guantanamo in a responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance between the demands of our security and our constitution?"

Read more: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23604100...

---

After two more years of torturing prisoners and keeping them in the torture chamber without being given any rights, then he promises to get a conscious and do the right thing by letting the people go.

Maybe.

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. Lovely!

[Charlie16]

2. yeah, that's change we can believe in

right

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. Apparently Obama thinks it is.

[stillcool]

40. What's the problem with closing Guantanamo?

In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Obama listed a series of benchmarks his team had set during his presidential campaign. Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years, he said: "On foreign policy, have we closed down Guantanamo in a responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance between the demands of our security and our constitution?"

Mr Obama was named the magazine's Person of the Year for what Time called "the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour". Analysts say closing the military prison will not be easy. Some 250 men are still being held at the facility in Cuba and many fear persecution if they are sent home.

[blm]

3. Who will be the last man to torture for a mistake?

.

[babylonsister]

5. Maybe he can do it in 2 months. Anyone who thinks Obama can

wave a magic wand and get everything accomplished he intends to is living in la-la land.
He has a 'conscience' and will be trying to do the right thing, even though he will have lots of naysayers to shove out of the way.

Keep trying to stir the pot; that's so helpful.

[Robbien]

8. As we type, people are screaming in pain. Even two months is too long to wait

Sorry, but this is an issue upon which I cannot compromise.

[babylonsister]

12. So don't and keep whining. The man hasn't even taken office yet.

You expect too much, as much as we all want Obama to do the right thing. And you don't know if anyone is currently 'screaming in pain'. The world is watching; hopefully they've dialed back their torture tactics.

[acmavm]

Two years? It'll take him TWO YEARS? There is no reason that

it should take two years to empty Gitmo. And it will be a crime if the program of torture continues even for one minute.

What the fuck have we all (INCLUDING YOU) been saying about bush** & Cheney and torture? If it continues under Obama, he's just as bad.

[babylonsister]

17. Jeebus. Do you believe everything you read, especially from this

sterling source? I have no clue how long it will take to close Gitmo, but Obama has said he wants it done asap. Stop chastizing me, k?

[acmavm]

25. Stop being a snitty ass. Chastising? Ok, then I AM chastising

you.

And believe this article? How about the Time interview?

Gitmo needs to go within the first week of his administration.

And don't tell me about what to believe and what not to believe. I seem to be seeing the same things everyone else is. The Vilsack appointment, Holder, and the Warren mess.

[babylonsister]

27. Fine. You're entitled to your opinions. Don't

try to shove them down my throat.
This whole article is supposition. You can bite if you want.

[stillcool]

41. where in the article does it say..

it will take two years?

[Robbien]

18. Because Obama is going to be president, the torture is magically wiped away from your mind?

America tortures. Nothing changes that until the leader says stop.

Our new leader says we won't stop. In two years we will maybe responsibly get around to it.

[babylonsister]

20. Don't you dare put words in my mouth.

I never said that, nor do I think that. But you're stirring up shit that hasn't even happened yet, from a questionable source.

Get a clue. Complain when something does or doesn't happen, as we all will. Now it's pure ugly speculation.

[Robbien]

30. Time magazine is a questionable source?

Obama's quote is taken from the Time mag interview.

As much as I dislike MSM, I do believe when they use quotes, the interviewee actually said the words.

No speculation here.

[babylonsister]

32. Every news source out there is speculating, about everything, including

Time. If it hasn't happened yet, it's speculation. Duh.

[stillcool]

58. No speculation, just mis-representation..

Why would you do that?

[RaleighNCDUer]

48. Bullshit.

He was asked 'what will have changed in two years' - and he replied 'no more torture, no more Gitmo'. Nowhere in his reply did he say it would TAKE two years. Only that two years from now it will be done with. It could well happen in two months - which is a reasonable timeline for getting ANYTHING done in government.

[acmavm]

13. Oh come on. You're smarter than that.

[babylonsister]

15. Huh? I have no clue what you mean.

If you think I'm smarter than to believe Obama has no intention of doing something about Gitmo, I'd say you're wrong. Nice hit and run.

[acmavm]

16. No, read my other post.

[saigon68]

6. Nothing to See--- Move along

P.S. Ignore that man behind the Curtain

[No Elephants]

7. The fact that Gitmo remains open does not necessarily mean that torture will continue. Gitmo was

open for many years before people were tortured there. And Bush has "exported" prisoners to be tortured in other countries. So, it is not all about GITMO, one way or the other. The important thing is that torture of our detainees, wherever done, ends, not that GITMO closes.

[Robbien]

14. He himself says "put a clear end to torture in a responsible way"

A responsible way meaning phase it out over a two year period.

[stillcool]

39. Where do you get your "2 year period" from?

In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Obama listed a series of benchmarks his team had set during his presidential campaign. Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years, he said: "On foreign policy, have we closed down Guantanamo in a responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance between the demands of our security and our constitution?"

Mr Obama was named the magazine's Person of the Year for what Time called "the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour". Analysts say closing the military prison will not be easy. Some 250 men are still being held at the facility in Cuba and many fear persecution if they are sent home.

[No Elephants]

61. That is your interpretation. In any case, I am not trying to parse what Obama may or may not have

meant. I made different points. Namely, the issue is torture of our detainees, wherever conducted, not Gitmo. Gitmos could stay open without torture being conducted there and/or we could be shipping our detainees to Yemen to be tortured decades after Gitmo shuts down.

[nc4bo]

9. Ouch.

Edit: After reading some of the comments here and having an immediate (and mistaken) kneejerk reaction to the short fuzzy media.

I got it.

The OP is a non-story.

[Solly Mack]

10. ...

...

[Shiver]

11. WITHIN two years.

Tell you what. Come up with a reasonable plan to close down Guantanamo as soon as possible. This includes what to do with the prisoners, how to move them, where to move them, arranging their trials, determining their sentences, etc. It's not as simple as just shutting the place down.

And do you really think he's going to continue torture in the meantime?

[mt13]

24. AMEN...

[stillcool]

33. Oh now stop...

Obama should wave his magic wand and make it all go away. Anything else is not good enough.

[Shiver]

34. But his magic wand has only three waves left!

We need the economy fixed, global warming ended, and universal health care!

[stillcool]

44. And they all need to be done...

the day after he becomes President, if not before.

[Lucky Luciano]

37. Yay!!!! Someone has a clue! nt

[sinkingfeeling]

19. You certainly are distorting what's written in this article! It 's basically saying that people will

judge the success of his administration at the end of 2 years by his having 'closed down Guantanamo in responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance....".

It says nothing about him continuing Bush's torture or even Gitmo's existence for two more years.

[watrwefitinfor]

29. I'm afraid you cannot talk sense or logic to this DU crowd today.

They smell blood...

Wat

[ComtesseDeSpair]

21. Talk about overreacting...

That quote doesn't say that Obama is going to wait two years to close Guantanamo. It says, "Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years..." So two years from now, if he has closed Guantanamo responsibly, he's succeeding with his foreign policy. It's on his To Do list, but he doesn't indicate in that quote how long it will take him to do it. Talk about the media distorting his words (again).

[jetphixer]

22. WARREN&THIS

Enough 4 me. I WAS an Obama supporter This was the last straw so NOW Obama is a HAS BEEN to me now SORRY I cant support the man anymore I am retired Military. This is it

[Connie_Corleone]

28. Read the damn article. Obama doesn't say he'll close it in 2 years.

[stillcool]

42. Maybe you should read the article..

before you jump ship. Or not.

[davsand]

23. So--Gitmo can't be open and NOT torture?

Is THAT what I am supposed to take away from this? They can't use the facility for any other purpose than to torture?

To tell you the truth, I'm not thinking they are gonna do anybody any favors by just opening the gates and letting all the prisoners walk out into Cuba. THAT doesn't exactly sound like a plan either. Maybe they need to stop the torture and sort out exactly who the current regime has got stocked away in there. I expect THAT might take a bit of time.

Sigh.

Sometimes the Chicken Little stuff gets kinda tired.




Laura

[stillcool]

38. From what I've read there has been no..

estimate of how long it will take.

In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Obama listed a series of benchmarks his team had set during his presidential campaign. Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years, he said: "On foreign policy, have we closed down Guantanamo in a responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance between the demands of our security and our constitution"?

Mr Obama was named the magazine's Person of the Year for what Time called "the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour". Analysts say closing the military prison will not be easy. Some 250 men are still being held at the facility in Cuba and many fear persecution if they are sent home.

[Connie_Corleone]

26. Instead of finding things to wail and gnash your teeth over regarding Obama,

why don't you try reading the fucking sentence?

Mr Obama listed a series of benchmarks his team had set during his presidential campaign. Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years, he said: "On foreign policy, have we closed down Guantanamo in a responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance between the demands of our security and our constitution?"

Nowhere does he say that it'll take 2 years to close Guantanamo.

I'm sick of this selective reading crap on DU.

[YOY]

31. Closing the place and stopping torture are two diferent things.

Naturally the whole place is a middle finger to the jailing people without evidence against any real crimes committed but perhaps Obama will at least halt the torture as soon as possible if not closing that disgusting place in the quickest manner possible.

Just wishful thinking.

[stillcool]

35. more from the article..

what's your problem?

In an interview with Time magazine, Mr Obama listed a series of benchmarks his team had set during his presidential campaign. Asked how voters would know whether his administration was succeeding in two years, he said: "On foreign policy, have we closed down Guantanamo in a responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance between the demands of our security and our constitution?"

Mr Obama was named the magazine's Person of the Year for what Time called "the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour". Analysts say closing the military prison will not be easy. Some 250 men are still being held at the facility in Cuba and many fear persecution if they are sent home.

[DS1]

36. nice spin, shitbag

[bunnies]

43. Thats not what the fucking article says.

Jackass.

I think the methane from all that shit-stirring is going to your brain.

[Lorien]

45. As an aside, a friend of my mother's was sent to Gitmo for eight months

his name is Abu and he's from someplace in North Africa-I think the Sudan. Anyway, he's been a volunteer with International Friendships and Campus Crusade for Christ for over ten years (evangelical organizations), and was picked up because his Islamic name was similar to someone else's. Amazingly, my mother thought that it was no big deal! She knew that "Christ would protect him" and she had such faith in BushCo that neither she nor just about anyone else that worked with Abu worried for him in the least. I don't know how he finally got out, but next time I'm up there I'll need to ask him about it. I asked my mother about how he was treated there and she just changed the topic.

[JNelson6563]

46. I can't believe some need this s'plained

You don't think operations can be changed before they are closed? Doesn't everyone in Gitmo need to be addressed as in a trial or something? Doesn't everyone have to be "processed" in some way so that it can be determined what to do with them? Isn't everyone entitled to due process? What about those who are very obviously wrongly imprisoned? Does anyone here understand they could be released within a very short time, meaning a long time before "we closed down Guantanamo in a responsible way"?

Come on DU, what's with the knee jerk reactionary nonsense that reveals thinking about half an inch deep? With us or against us, open or closed....I see no difference in degree between the two versions of black and white thinking.




Julie

[drm604]

47. Reading comprehension.

If you read beyond the headline you'll see that he never said anything like that, their headline is ridiculously misleading. He was asked what he hopes to accomplish within the first two years and he said closing down Guantanamo and putting an end to torture. That is not the same as saying that he would wait two years. If he does it within the first two days that would be within the first two years. He didn't mention the two year time frame, his questioners did. This article is a good example of how the right tries to mislead people, and now DUer's are falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

[sarcasmo]

49. Meet the new Boss, same as the old Boss.

[drm604]

51. Not at all. Read the article. It doesn't say what the OP claims it says.

The article's headline is extremely misleading.

[sarcasmo]

53. Hey, I voted for him but not closing Gitmo upon taking office would be a huge mistake.

[drm604]

54. Did you read the article?

He never said that he would wait two years. Read the damned article.

[sarcasmo]

56. Cussing at me how lovely, this site has eroded into something it never was back in 04.

[drm604]

60. I apologize if I offended you. It was not meant personally.

I may have overreacted to your post but it wasn't aimed at you personally. It's just that this thread is really bugging me. The OP posted a misleading post about an article with a misleading headline and everyone is blindly jumping on the bandwagon. Numerous people have posted corrections in this thread but people continue to believe what the OP says.

I tried to point out to you that it was misleading and you responded as if I was defending the idea of keeping Guantanamo open for two years.

Obama never said that he would wait two years to end torture or close Guantanamo. People are putting words in his mouth and a few people, myself included, are trying to stop this misunderstanding before it really snowballs. It's frustrating when we're ignored.

[kevinds13]

50. People on here are ridiculous.

Where's he going to send everyone? Is everyone given a trial? Is everyone released? Do we take the time to sort out who actually did anything illegal?

Yeah...that's gonna happen overnight

[drm604]

52. He never claimed he would wait two years.

The OP and the article headline are both misleading.

[Doremus]

55. Very misleading headline. Non-story. n/t

[mike_c]

57. self-delete

[Wizard777]

59. I think Obama will stop the torture immediately if not sooner. That is the main problem with Gitmo.

Without the torture it's just a POW camp. Establishing Gitmo is as close as Bush got to conforming to the Geneva Convention. It's illegal to hold POW's in a prison without being tried and convicted of a crime.

[achtung_circus]

62. Bloody hell, cherrypick much???

IN CONTEXT

from Time Magazine itself

When voters look at your Administration two years from now, in the off-year election, how will they know whether you're succeeding?
I think there are a couple of benchmarks we've set for ourselves during the course of this campaign. On policy, have we helped this economy recover from what is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Have we instituted financial regulations and rules of the road that assure this kind of crisis doesn't occur again? Have we created jobs that pay well and allow families to support themselves? Have we made significant progress on reducing the cost of health care and expanding coverage? Have we begun what will probably be a decade-long project to shift America to a new energy economy? Have we begun what may be an even longer project of revitalizing our public-school systems so we can compete in the 21st century? That's on the domestic front.

On foreign policy, have we closed down Guantánamo in a responsible way, put a clear end to torture and restored a balance between the demands of our security and our Constitution? Have we rebuilt alliances around the world effectively? Have I drawn down U.S. troops out of Iraq, and have we strengthened our approach in Afghanistan — not just militarily but also diplomatically and in terms of development? And have we been able to reinvigorate international institutions to deal with transnational threats, like climate change, that we can't solve on our own?

And outside of specific policy measures, two years from now, I want the American people to be able to say, "Government's not perfect; there are some things Obama does that get on my nerves. But you know what? I feel like the government's working for me. I feel like it's accountable. I feel like it's transparent. I feel that I am well informed about what government actions are being taken. I feel that this is a President and an Administration that admits when it makes mistakes and adapts itself to new information, that believes in making decisions based on facts and on science as opposed to what is politically expedient." Those are some of the intangibles that I hope people two years from now can claim.

You're spinning out of control. A short pause may be indicated.

[uppityperson]

63. WITHIN 2 yrs, not "until 2 yrs) Good lord.eom

[maddezmom]

64. locking

This Is London headline is misleading and the additional editorialization in the title makes it even more so.