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“Listen to what I say; not see what I actually do.”
Flopping Aces ^ | 05-01-13 | Wordsmith

Posted on 05/02/2013 10:01:38 AM PDT by Starman417

Trays of halal meat for detainee meals are stored in a refrigeration unit at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. BOB STRONG/REUTERS
Trays of halal meat for detainee meals are stored in a
refrigeration unit at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. BOB STRONG/REUTERS

A selection of lunch meals offered to detainees are displayed in a food preparation area at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. BOB STRONG/REUTERS
A selection of lunch meals offered to detainees are displayed
in a food preparation area at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. BOB STRONG/REUTERS

I heard it again on the Today Show this morning: Two days into his presidency, by Executive Order, President Barack Obama called for closing Guantanamo but was blocked by Congress at every turn.

Really?!

Essentially, a segment of mainstream media in their lazy journalism (or liberal bias) is merely adopting the excuse and language used by President Obama in his press conference yesterday.

Time Swampland headline: President Obama Sides With His Guantanamo Bay Protesters

CBS News headline writes "Obama: Guantanamo Must Close"

The Guardian headline: Guantánamo 'not in the best interests of the American people', says Obama

USA Today headlines Obama: We need to close Guantanamo Bay

LATimes writes Obama renews call to close Guantanamo prison

Ok...

Amusing headline at ABC News today, reporting the AP: Guantanamo Strike Still on Despite New Obama Vow Really?! You mean to say President Obama's awe-inspiring vow renewal didn't inspire the detainees to buy into the bull-rhetoric and end their hunger strike?

fb_guantanamo

But not everyone in the liberal side of the press is blind to his silvered-tongue demagoguery of the issue.

NYTimes Editorial Board:

We were pleased that Mr. Obama pledged to make good, finally, on his promise to do just that. But that reaction was tempered by the fact that he has failed to do so for five years and that he has not taken steps within his executive power to transfer prisoners long ago cleared for release. Mr. Obama’s plans to try to talk Congress into removing obstacles to closing the prison do not reflect the urgency of the crisis facing him now.

In wake of recent problems at Guantanamo and news of the detainee hunger strike finally making its way into the public mainstream consciousness, President Obama was made to address the issue:

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Bill Plante.

Q: Mr. President, as you're probably aware, there's a growing hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, among prisoners there. Is it any surprise, really, that they would prefer death rather than have no end in sight to their confinement?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it is not a surprise to me that we've got problems in Guantanamo, which is why, when I was campaigning in 2007 and 2008 and when I was elected in 2008, I said we need to close Guantanamo.

I continue to believe that we've got to close Guantanamo. I think -- well, you know, I think it is critical for us to understand that Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe. It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens cooperation with our allies on counterterrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed.

Now Congress determined that they would not let us close it and despite the fact that there are a number of the folks who are currently in Guantanamo who the courts have said could be returned to their country of origin or potentially a third country.

I'm going to go back at this. I've asked my team to review everything that's currently being done in Guantanamo, everything that we can do administratively, and I'm going to re-engage with Congress to try to make the case that this is not something that's in the best interests of the American people.

And it's not sustainable. I mean, the notion that we're going to continue to keep over a hundred individuals in a no man's land in perpetuity, even at a time when we've wound down the war in Iraq, we're winding down the war in Afghanistan, we're having success defeating al-Qaida core, we've kept the pressure up on all these transnational terrorist networks, when we've transferred detention authority in Afghanistan -- the idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals who have not been tried -- that is contrary to who we are, it is contrary to our interests, and it needs to stop.

Now, it's a hard case to make because, you know, I think for a lot of Americans, the notion is out of sight, out of mind, and it's easy to demagogue the issue. That's what happened the first time this came up. I'm going to go back at it because I think it's important.

Q: (Off mic) -- continue to force-feed these folks -- (inaudible) --

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I don't -- I don't want these individuals to die. Obviously, the Pentagon is trying to manage the situation as best as they can. But I think all of us should reflect on why exactly are we doing this. Why are we doing this?

I mean, we've got a whole bunch of individuals who have been tried who are currently in maximum security prisons around the country. Nothing's happened to them. Justice has been served. It's been done in a way that's consistent with our Constitution, consistent with due process, consistent with rule of law, consistent with our traditions. The -- the individual who attempted to bomb Times Square -- in prison serving a life sentence. Individual who tried to bomb a plane in Detroit -- in prison serving a life sentence. A Somali who was part of al-Shahab (sic) who we captured -- in prison.

So we can handle this. And I understand that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, with the traumas that had taken place, why, for a lot of Americans, the notion was somehow that we had to create a special facility like Guantanamo, and we couldn't handle this in -- in a normal, conventional fashion. I understand that reaction.

But we're not over a decade out. We should be wiser. We should have more experience at -- in how we prosecute terrorists. And this is a lingering, you know, problem that is not going to get better. It's going to get worse. It's going to fester.

And so I'm going to -- as I've said before, we're -- examine every option that we have administratively to try to deal with this issue. But ultimately, we're also going to need some help from Congress. And I'm going to ask some -- some folks over there who, you know, care about fighting terrorism but also care about who we are as a people to -- to step up and -- and help me on it.

It's Congress's fault. It's Bush's fault.

(excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...


TOPICS: Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: gitmo; obama; terror; terrorism

1 posted on 05/02/2013 10:01:38 AM PDT by Starman417
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To: Starman417
(excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...

Post it here, pimp.

2 posted on 05/02/2013 10:02:31 AM PDT by humblegunner
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To: Starman417

Just lock the place up with the killers inside, let the ones go that didn’t hurt anyone(make sure that Obama and co are responsible).

Leave, and when one of them bombs something, or kills an American, or is caught on American soil plotting an attack, make sure that Obama and co are relentlessly hounded.


3 posted on 05/02/2013 10:10:26 AM PDT by FreedomStar3028
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To: Starman417

Would someone do a Google search on “How to Encourage and Insure a successful Hunger Strike” and get back to me as soon as possible.


4 posted on 05/02/2013 10:24:50 AM PDT by InterceptPoint (a)
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To: Starman417

Nice to know that our Patriotic 100% American Cattle are being killed to feed Muslim Terrorists at Guantanamo and the Commies living in the White House.


5 posted on 05/02/2013 10:32:40 AM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Compliance with Tyranny is Treason...)
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To: Starman417
The Marines should set up a big Texas sized Barbecue just outside the Prisoner Enclosure and chow down on Pulled Pork and Ribs.

Make sure they are upwind so the smoke wafts toward the Hunger Strikers and their Jihadist buddies.

We can call it Barbecue Boarding.

6 posted on 05/02/2013 10:38:18 AM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Compliance with Tyranny is Treason...)
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