Skip to main content

Too late for Obama to close Guantanamo prison: Analyst

A letter by Democratic lawmakers urging outgoing President Barack Obama to close the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is "too little too late,” says an analyst in New York.
Joe Lauria, an author and independent journalist made the remarks on Thursday, while discussing a letter by Democratic lawmakers to Obama, where they called for the closure of the controversial detention facility.
Obama has failed to keep his promise during the 2008 presidential election campaign to close the prison, citing its damage to the US reputation abroad, but has set free some of the inmates and relocated some others.
On the 15th anniversary of the opening of the prison, the 40 Democratic signatories from the Congressional Progressive Caucus said in the letter that they were alarmed by “torture’s resurgence” under the incoming presidency of Donald Trump.
While campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, Trump, a New York billionaire and former reality TV start, embraced Guantánamo and promised to bring back water-boarding, one of the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques used on suspects of the US alleged war on terror after the 9/11 attacks.
Describing the letter as “too little too late,” Lauria said the lawmakers had to wrote the letter eight years ago not eight days before the end of Obama’s tenure.
“So, suddenly they discovered that Guantanamo needs to be closed, it is really rich that they suddenly have a problem with that because they think that somehow Trump will make it worse,” he added.
Lauria referred to Trump’s pledges of reinstating torture and said there is indeed a real chance that the situation at Gitmo could turn for the worse under Trump.
However, he argued that Democrats had a lot more to worry about during Obama’s eight years in the White House and yet did not take any actions.
“Why not tell Obama earlier to end drone warfare, mass surveillance, to undo his National Defense Authorization Act … and the Pentagon program giving weapons to local police departments,” he asked. “There is many many things that Trump will inherit from Obama, that Obama created, that these Democrats are not calling for an end to.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

38 dead, 92,000 left homeless by Niger floods

Recent heavy floods in Niger have killed more than three dozen people and left tens of thousands of others homeless, a United Nations (UN) report says. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report on Wednesday that, since June, at least 38 people had lost their lives and more than 92,000 had been made homeless as a result of torrential rains and heavy downpours in the West African country. The Nigerien government had put the number of fatalities at 14 before new flooding in August. The OCHA, citing government figures, also noted that more than 9,000 homes had been destroyed and more than 26,000 heads of livestock lost. Over 50,000 people had received aid from NGOs and many of the homeless had been sheltering in schools and public buildings, it added. The Nigerien National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a warning last month, advising residents along the Niger River to evacuate immediately to safer ground over the likelihood of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iran crushes Tajikistan for 2nd successive win at CAFA U-19 Women’s Cup

The Iranian national under-19 soccer team has notched an emphatic win over Tajikistan at the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) U-19 Women’s Cup in Uzbekistan to maintain its unbeaten run at the regional sports event. On Sunday, the Iranian sportswomen, who had opened the tournament with a 4-1 triumph over Kyrgyzstan the previous day, crushed their Central Asian opponents 6-0 in their second fixture in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent. Afsaneh Chatrenour put the Iranian team on the scoreboard in the 9th minute, before Elham Annafcheh doubled her side’s lead six minutes later. Fatemeh Qassemi scored a brace within few seconds in the 23rd and 24th minute, followed by an extra goal by Chatrenour in the 27th minute. Finally, Ghazaleh Salehipour ran the ball into the end zone more than a quarter after the hour mark, and hit a fine kick to score the Iranian team’s sixth goal. Iran women's national under-19 soccer team is scheduled t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Solar-powered ferries launched in Pyongyang

North Korea says it’s running solar-powered ferries in the capital Pyongyang. North Korean official news agency KCNA has released footage of a cruiser sailing through Taedong River in Pyongyang with a solar panel onboard. According to the cruiser’s captain, the ferries are capable of carrying up to 60 passengers. They are also going to be used for sight-seeing and tourism as well as providing reservation services for local and foreign guests. North Korea had earlier released images of the boats through a monthly magazine intended for foreign readers.
Post a Comment
Read more