Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Obama's Signs and Signals

Obama signingRemember the Big Deal recently when O’Bama signed his long-awaited executive order, the one about the closing of Guantanamo’s prison for terrorists?

Turns out that no one wants the inmates, so he may have trouble emptying out the place. Alcatraz would be perfect, but the Speaker of the House, the Hon’bl Nancy Pelosi, says no way, José. Alcatraz is in her district, which is filled with enough America haters as it is. Besides the fact that The Rock is a tourist site now, the place would probably never meet the code for “humane” treatment.

For that matter, they’re going to have trouble finding any place as luxe as Gitmo for our detainees.

At the time of the signing there was also a lot of ballyhoo because the president was also closing those evil black sites where newly captured terrorists are held until they can be sent on to other destinations. You know, those evil dark places that flourished under the evil, dark Bush.

Ummm…turns out the Big Deal executive order has at least one embroidered loophole, to wit:
- - - - - - - - -
“The terms ‘detention facilities’ and ‘detention facility’ in section 4(a) of this order do not refer to facilities used only to hold people on a short-term, transitory basis.”

The Washington Times has the exclusive on this story. It will probably stay “exclusive” as the MSM is not going to tarnish any of O’Bama’s haloes if it can be avoided:

The provision illustrates that the president’s order to shutter foreign-based prisons, known as black sites, is not airtight and that the Central Intelligence Agency still has options if it wants to hold terrorist suspects for several days at a time.

Current and former U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition that they aren’t identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, said such temporary facilities around the world will remain open, giving the administration the opportunity to seize and hold assumed terrorists.

The detentions would be temporary. Suspects either would be brought later to the United States for trial or sent to other countries where they are wanted and can face trial.

The exception is evidence that the new administration, while announcing an end to many elements of the Bush “war on terror,” is leaving itself wiggle room to continue some of its predecessor’s practices regarding terrorist suspects.

There will be enough “wiggle room” behind that curtain for Obama to appear to "change" any number of rules while everything stays in place, just as it always has.The main difference is how the media will play this. Obama may be the One, but the press are The Ones in Charge; it’s been that way since Nixon. The MSM is impervious to "change", especially now that they have their man into the Oval Office. Keeping his halo burnished is the job of the hour. Just as they ignored the positive things that Bush did in office, they will ignore or play down the O’s wiggling and back-stepping.

So we still have the CIA black holes. We still have Gitmo. We still have a bloated, corrupt government. The Imperial Congress continues to bloviate while the country rolls over and goes back to sleep - as more and more of the unemployed are doing. What’s the point of getting up when the job opportunities are shrinking faster than cotton clothing from China?

Helle Dale, from the Heritage Foundation, had these observations about appearances vs. reality:

…President Obama’s announcement…has been greeted here and abroad with jubilation, every bit as much as if the gates of the detention center had been permanently shut, chained and padlocked.

[…]

European leaders lost no time claiming the credit for Mr. Obama’s decision. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said that closing Guantanamo is a move “which Spain and Europe have demanded.” So did German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who told the BBC: “Germany belongs to the group of countries like the UK who demanded closure of Guantanamo. It’s a question of credibility. Its closure is necessary for the USA, especially if the U.S. wants to restore its credibility in the Middle East and in the Arab world.” At least Mr. Steinmeier offered to help with the detainees (an offer that was notably never extended to the Bush administration)…

Dale notes that O has a steep learning curve when it comes to looking “presidential” now that he's gotten his wish. For sure, Bill Clinton would have done his homework on this situation rather than show up for the event looking so clueless. But then, Clinton was actually a policy wonk. Somehow, that doesn’t appear to be Obama’s strong suit:

It is not very clear, though, how much the president is in command of his own policy. During Friday’s signing ceremony, Mr. Obama appeared not to know that he would be signing four separate orders and had to refer repeatedly to White House Legal Counsel Greg Craig for answers to questions from the media. Nor was he able to answer a question about the future of the detainees. For the Obama White House, closing Gitmo is essentially a symbolic action.

Symbolism is the essence of Obama. His political philosophy is such a shallow pool that it would take very little heat or light to transform it into a puddle. However, heat and light is not going to be supplied by anyone currently on watch. He will sail his little boat and the press in the pool will treat it as though he were walking on water.

What a situation: our Leader is a useful idiot. I fear that we may deserve him.

15 comments:

spackle said...

"Besides the fact that The Rock is a tourist site now, the place would probably never meet the code for “humane” treatment."

Sure it could. Ms. Pelosi can just use, lets see uumm, $100,000,000.00 of TARP money! It would be win win! It will create limited jobs to unqualified people to make Jihadis as comfortable as possible. And all the SF residents could prostrate themselves in front of them and beg for forgiveness for being horrible Western infidels on a daily basis.

Tuan Jim said...

Not like California sure couldn't use the federal funding right now. At the moment, San Fran is still banned from receiving any federal funds because of their obscene "sanctuary city" policy (although it's possible that they might have gotten rid of that law in the last couple of months.

Homophobic Horse said...

"There will be enough “wiggle room” behind that curtain for Obama to appear to "change" any number of rules while everything stays in place, just as it always has.The main difference is how the media will play this. Obama may be the One, but the press are The Ones in Charge; it’s been that way since Nixon. The MSM is impervious to "change", especially now that they have their man into the Oval Office. Keeping his halo burnished is the job of the hour. Just as they ignored the positive things that Bush did in office, they will ignore or play down the O’s wiggling and back-stepping."

If this paragraph is born out by events then it shows that Obama always was the Fascist Capitalist establishment candidate.

Robohobo said...

Homo. Horse-

What does "Fascist Capitalist establishment" mean? Where is the headquarters? Is that like VRWC?

/snark off

KG said...

Fine post Dymphna! I've put up an excerpt and link over at Crusader Rabbit.

Czechmade said...

My idea was always "many open Gitmos".

The shame will be on the islamic countries not taking them back. Perfect propaganda tool to show 56 islamic countries in a bad light.

Many rocky islands around Europe can serve the same purpose. Send your zakat for muslims detained in Europe or better take them back home from these islands. Open facility/jail attacking (exhausting) muslim charities. We can torture them very humanly - not providing any islamic facilities for them - not investing one penny in an evil fascist ideology. It is up to the muslims state to take them back.

We can discuss that on al-jazeera or islam.tv for ever. Do not pay for Hamas, pay for your people to get home.

And do not call it deportation, call it dar-al-islamization. It sounds great and respectful.

Profitsbeard said...

This EU and now Obama (and his willing suckers') delusion over "credibility" with the Muslim world is both maddening and pathetic.

Infidel dogs have no credibility, no matter how much they try to prostrate themselves before their arrogant Islamic opponents, and can never have any.

They are always and only contemptible infidel dogs, period. Their lickspittle crawling is only laughable to the Mohammedans. Who encourage it by pretending to agree with the premise.

Chuckling as the West disembowels itself to "look nice".

You are either respected (for military strength) or you are being weakened in order to be destroyed ("loved" in the multuiculti lingo).

laine said...

The only significant differences between Bush and Obama's capabilities favor Bush (e.g. political and life experience including serving in the National Guard and learning to fly a highly technical plane requiring nerve and skill).

There is an objective analysis of Bush's IQ available through his military entrance exams, placing him above average and a couple of points above Kerry. Remember how Kerry was made out to be a big brain intellectual? Ditto Obama but objective evidence for it is questionable.

His transcripts and thesis from Harvard are a deep dark secret. Why? Could he have been an affirmative action admission like his wife who has said that she was told her marks weren't good enough for Princeton but she magically got in anyway? Could he have been a mediocre student even with the grade inflation for which Harvard is famous? Why is he the only editor of Harvard Law Review who wrote nothing himself, this supposedly gifted autobiographer? Perhaps he had no ghost writer like Bill Ayers in place then?

No, the differences favoring the newest President are all media created. If a leftist candidate walks and chews gum at the same time, the media hails them as genius.

Who didn't know how many states are in the USA? That's right, the guy who says he was born in Hawaii, the famous 50th and last state to be admitted. If Bush or McCain had said they had campaigned in 47 states but not Hawaii or Alaska, that would have been front page news for weeks. As for painting Obama as the world's greatest orator, off his teleprompter he's not so swift on his feet so it's just more false hype.

His political record is downright feeble. Voting "present" requires nothing more than a pulse. If only his abilities matched his ambition.

The media presents Republican candidates and presidents as dim, every last one and Democrats as giant intellectuals. Neither is true.

Left wing voters just put a biased media's creation and 600 million dollar man into office purely for the color of his skin, an untried man whose life's mentors have been marxists, Muslims, black bigots and a domestic terrorist.

Gee, nothing can go wrong there.

songdongnigh said...

Even as the legal mish-mash at Gitmo stands now, we are in fact extending every protection of the Geneva Conventions, plus many more niceties.

We should simply revert to a strict application of the Geneva Conventions for one overarching reason: the Conventions allow for those captured to be held for the duration of hostilities.

That would also eliminate all the legal mumbo-jumbo, court appearances and trials.

Homophobic Horse said...

Mr. Robohobo

"What does "Fascist Capitalist establishment" mean? Where is the headquarters? Is that like VRWC?"

*Whisper*The front line is everywhere.

Tuan Jim said...

Czechmade: "My idea was always "many open Gitmos".

The shame will be on the islamic countries not taking them back. Perfect propaganda tool to show 56 islamic countries in a bad light."

The issue (as I've read it everywhere) isn't that these countries aren't willing to take them back (like China too) - but that we're afraid that the [admitted] terrorists might be "tortured" once they get back to those countries - or that testimony already used against them to try them in absentia - may have been obtained by torture (thereby invalidating their convictions(?!?)).

The Gitmo situation is pretty much the same dilemma as the UK with Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza - only we're not stupid enough - yet - to let them out on the streets - because we can't keep them jailed but we can't deport them either. Oh the huge manatee!

Czechmade said...

Tuan Jim

Some 56 islamic states struck by the thunderbolt of the islamic perfection and superiority should never be humiliated by the arrogant West postulating that they are unable to take the best possible care of their jihadi minions!

This attitude is more than islamophobic. Little bit torture in the frame of sharia is a blessing to all muslims. We should stop meddling in the dar-al-islam.
If China is not good, there is Yemen, Saudi, Somalia.

ɱØяñιηg$ʇðя ©™ said...

It's not true nobody wants these gitmo-terrorists. The MSM/PC-politicians in Sweden are happy to take them in and I kinda doubt they intend to jail them once they're here. They will probably allowed to walk free on the streets from day 1 or 2 or something like that. Please do us all a favor and arrange for the planes with these jihadists to simply crash in the ocean. just an accident, no questions asked.

Anonymous said...

"His transcripts and thesis from Harvard are a deep dark secret. Why?" (laine)

Perhaps his transcript includes a checked box labeled, "Foreign National."

Czechmade said...

The thesis of Helmut Kohl in Germany was also a "secret". But I guess he was a German, only his thesis in history might have been a bit weak...

How shy you must be to become a politician?