Thursday, January 22, 2009

Now There's Some Change I Can Believe In

Ah, that's more like it:

President Obama signed executive orders Thursday directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year, government officials said.

The orders, which are the first steps in undoing detention policies of former President George W. Bush, rewrite American rules for the detention of terrorism suspects. They require an immediate review of the 245 detainees still held at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to determine if they should be transferred, released or prosecuted.

And the orders bring to an end a Central Intelligence Agency program that kept terrorism suspects in secret custody for months or years, a practice that has brought fierce criticism from foreign governments and human rights activists. They will also prohibit the C.I.A. from using coercive interrogation methods, requiring the agency to follow the same rules used by the military in interrogating terrorism suspects, government officials said.
About fucking time. Gitmo and the like are a stain on our national soul. The sooner they are undone the better.

1 comment:

Paul said...

BUT OMG TEH TERRORISTS WILL RUN LOOSE IN TEH STREETZ!!!11ONEONEELEVEN