I have asked the Department of Defense to designate a site in the United States where we can hold military commissions. I am appointing a new senior envoy at the State Department and Defense Department whose sole responsibility will be to achieve the transfer of detainees to third countries. I am lifting the moratorium on detainee transfers to Yemen so we can review them on a case-by-case basis.President Obama, during his lengthy speech today on counterterrorism. Obama also stated his continued support for shutting down the facility, saying that “there is no justification beyond politics for Congress to prevent us from closing a facility that it should — should have never been opened.” source
President Obama just delivered a near hour-long speech on drone strikes and counterterrorism policy. There was a lot there; he announced, among other things, new steps the administration is taking to close Guantanamo Bay, changes in policies regarding drone strikes, and a more lenient policy for the transfer of Guantanamo detainees. He defended the strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki and the practice of drone strikes in general, but also acknowledged their limitations. You can read the full text of the speech here (Photo credit: AP) source
BREAKING: Congress to get classified drone info
(Photo: US Air Force via Reuters)
Reversing their earlier course, the White House will now brief members of Congress on a memo detailing the justification for drone strikes against U.S. citizens.
Will be interesting to see when this info is UNclassified and released to the public.
Various untoward and tragic events and battles will take place as a result of this meaningless, imposed and unwinnable war. They should not postpone withdrawal of their forces even be it for one day.A message from the Taliban • Suggesting that NATO is going to suffer a world of pain if they hold off leaving the country until 2014 (2015, by some counts). Right now, violence is the worst it’s ever been in the country, leading to record casualties. This is despite the 150,000 international troops there. By the way, let’s emphasize a pretty good point about this mess – this is what the Taliban’s going to say. That’s not to undercut the need for us to stay in the country for another four years – there are good reasons on both sides for us to get out (or stay). But the Taliban is a formidable foe and they’re going to taunt us. source (via • follow)
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