"If Gitmo is anyone’s legacy, it is the legacy of George W. Bush and of the US Senate" [View all]

[SunsetDreams]

Obama’s Failure To Close Gitmo Does Not Make Him The Worst Democratic President


(snip)

Many years ago, when I first learned of the Japanese internment camps, which were the result of an executive order by the progressive icon, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, I became deeply conflicted. How can someone who I’ve come to revere make such an unjust decision? How would I have reacted had I been alive during WWII?

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Need I remind you that George W. Bush bogged us down in two of the longest wars in American history? He indefinitely detained people with no hope of trials. His administration advocated and used torture. During his administration, our tax money was stolen and handed over to cronies. He left us with the worst economy since the Great Depression and the complete lack of respect from the rest of the world. Obviously, I could go on.

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(see the timeline of what has happened with trying to close Gitmo at the link)

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Guantanamo Bay will go down in history as a sad chapter in a history of American civil rights abuses. If I could manufacture my perfect President, he would have held his breath till he was blue in the face and have taken Congress hostage while demanding that they fund the closure of Gitmo.

Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. President Obama chose not to commit political suicide over an issue he might not have (in fact, arguably wouldn’t have) won. Personally, I believe him when he says the intention is still there. Perhaps our political pressure is misdirected when focused solely on the President. The Senate is the direct reason Gitmo isn’t closed. If Gitmo is anyone’s legacy, it is the legacy of George W. Bush and of the US Senate.

More at link: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/10/obamas-failure-to-close-gitmo-does-not-make-him-the-worst-democratic-president/

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The fact of the matter is Obama signed an executive order to close Gitmo within a year on January 22, 2009. Congress voted 90-6 against providing funds in order to close it. Many Americans wanted and still want Gitmo closed but don't want the Prisoners in their "backyards". The matter is where to move them, and in order to move them, Congress needs to provide the funding in order to do so. While this is a campaign promise broken, Obama didn't break it. Congress did. He still reiterates wanting to close it. The executive order is there, but no funding to do it.