As you know closing down Guantanamo Bay has been on Obama's list of campaign promises. In the first few days of his presidency Obama has taken quick and hopefully effective measures to abide by his committments. President Obama has issued five executive orders in his five days in office and four of them are linked to undoing the political and legal damage caused by the Bush administration's policies in the war on terror. By the way you can see all of his proclamations and executive orders here on his website.
Obama has addressed interrogation techniques demanding that the all US agencies (including the CIA) be held legally responsible to interrogation methods as layed out in the Army Field Manual and the Geneva conventions. He has catagorically denied the argument that prisoners being held outside of American territory by American forces do not have legal, and humanitrian protection under the AFM and the GC (this was a major argument for the Bush administration).
What is more, Obama has revoked the CIA's right to hold their own detention facilities. THIS IS HUGE. The biggest worry that I have had about closing Guantanamo has been that it is often likened to the tip of the iceburg. Because the CIA hold secret prisons (thought to be in five different countries in Asia and Eastern Europe) we know that they hold prisoners there that are have little to no legal assistance and have no reason to believe they will ever be released. It doen't make sense to talk about closing Guantanamo if you do nothing to curtail the ability of the CIA to keep secret prisons around the world that are basically lawless black holes. So Obama did something about it:
"Sec. 4. Prohibition of Certain Detention Facilities, and Red Cross Access to Detained Individuals.
(a) CIA Detention. The CIA shall close as expeditiously as possible any detention facilities that it currently operates and shall not operate any such detention facility in the future."
These short sentances have HUGE ramifications. It remains to be seen how this is carried out and what the consequences are in the future. I am proud of Obama.
What is more - Obama has invalidated the executive orders of Bush that made access to Presidential records almost impossible for decades to come. About a year back it was reported that Bush had closed his presidential files to the public for 100 years. The short version of what Bush ordered is that any living member of the family of a former president (and sometimes officials within that administration) could ask that any of the presidential papers be kept from public review. Obama has revoked this executive order and written in it's place that when there is a request for presidential documents the former president (if living) is notified and has 30 days to deny the request. If he does this then the request goes to before the attorney general and before the head of the national archives to determine if the denial is valid. Only documents that are concerning current national security are allowed to be kept from public scrutiny.
Obama has shown in his first five days in office wisdom and intention to really be the post transparent administration yet. He has worked out tons of new ways to allow citizens to be a greater part of government. One example: he has agreed to post all non-emergency legislation on the whitehouse website for five days before he signs it so that it is open to public comment and citizen opinions (I'll get you the link asap). Further more for his economic recovery plan he has set up the page recovery.gov that (once the bill is passed) will allow americans to see how their tax money is being used and to comment on it so as to help reduce wasteful spending.
I really encourage you to go to the website and see the other things the Obama administration is doing.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A true and important story
I found this article on the BBC Middle East Page today. I think it is an important story that should be retold - it is just one of thousands but It is also unique.
Today is the day that we as Americans are celebrating the end of the Bush years - the end of eight long years and hopefully the beginnng of something bright and new. It is important that we continue to look at what is going on - at what american policies are doing around the world - good and bad.
Today is the day that we as Americans are celebrating the end of the Bush years - the end of eight long years and hopefully the beginnng of something bright and new. It is important that we continue to look at what is going on - at what american policies are doing around the world - good and bad.
Monday, January 19, 2009
CNN Human Rights Watch video
This video is an interview with the Human Rights Watch Executive Director, Kenneth Roth, on CNN about the use of illegal weapons by the Israeli army in Gaza in the last three weeks. Thanks to Laila El-Haddad, blogger of the exceptional and impactful blog http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/.
Friday, January 16, 2009
New Additions
I would like to inform you that I have decided that I will be writing and posting in English and in French. I believe that adding french language sources will only enrich the blog. I know that most of my readers do not speak french but I have just run across too many insightful and interesting articles in french. Furthermore, I am all about encouraging the learning of languages :) I will do my best to write explinations of posts in English and in French.
There you have it! If I can do anything to make the information posted in french more accessible please let me know.
There you have it! If I can do anything to make the information posted in french more accessible please let me know.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
NO to "the war on terror"
Check out this article! These are great words - goes to show the power of rhetoric.
Article from the BBC 15, January 2009
Article from the BBC 15, January 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Israeli Palestinian conflict
I have not previously written about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This has mostly been because my personal research has focused on other issues. However, this is the only blog that I maintain and it is an issue about which I believe, sadly, many americans are misinformed. I would like to share what I have learned through my political studies and my perspective of living inside and outside of the United States.
We as Americans are deeply tied to this conflict through our taxes and our country's international policies. We have been so from the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
In my opinion this conflict is not based upon religion. Yes, many Jewish and Muslim believers have very strong religious convictions about their right and destiny to live in this territory, however, the origin of the conflict is not religious: it is historical and political.
For the time being I would like to provide you with some links to sites that I think provide imporatant and unique information. From there I will continue in further posts to outline more of historical and political points.
First, it should be said that the war that is currently being waged between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is an abominable humanitarian crisis. We should all be doing everything possible (writing, calling, emailing on a daily basis our senators and representatives and Obama, going to rallies, informing others etc.) to bring a quick end to the violence that has already killed more than 1000 people within the last three weeks.
I would like to redirect you to a blog that I have linked to regularly on my blog - that of Laila El-Haddad, an American Palestinian who has family in Gaza. She writes about the situtaion on the ground for those living in Gaza and it is a perspective that is essential for us to keep in mind, especially as the Israeli government has refused, up until this point, to allow foreign journalists into the war zone, making it difficult to get a variety of perspectives of what life is like for civilians living there. Please know that this blog is quite realistic, specifically because of the humanitarian crisis currently occuring in Gaza.
Next, I have found a site, called http://www.ifamericansknew.org/, that I think does a good job of summing up many of the major issues surrounding the Palestinian Israeli conflict. I do not take responsibility for what is written on the site but I can say that their historical section matches quite well with what I have learned through my undergraduate and graduate studies in France and in the United States. There is a wealth of information and many links to other interesting and little seen perspectives (for example those of the men injured in the Israeli attack of the USS Liberty, or the perspective of Orthodox Jews who do not believe in zionism. These are both interesting, and most definitly controversial, perspectives. But I believe they are as important to examine as any other.
Lastly I encourage you to visit this site, Demand a Stance, dedicated to stopping the current violence in Gaza. It is a very easy tool that connects you instantly to a form allowing you to write to your political representatives (whether you are American, British, or Canadian). They did all the work for you - it could not be easier, they even provide you with a sample letter. Take the time to do this - contacting your representatives is an essential part of changing policy.
That's all for now. Please feel free to comment. I will continue to post on the Israeli Palestinian conflict and would like to answer any questions you have or provide more information on parts that are cloudy.
We as Americans are deeply tied to this conflict through our taxes and our country's international policies. We have been so from the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
In my opinion this conflict is not based upon religion. Yes, many Jewish and Muslim believers have very strong religious convictions about their right and destiny to live in this territory, however, the origin of the conflict is not religious: it is historical and political.
For the time being I would like to provide you with some links to sites that I think provide imporatant and unique information. From there I will continue in further posts to outline more of historical and political points.
First, it should be said that the war that is currently being waged between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is an abominable humanitarian crisis. We should all be doing everything possible (writing, calling, emailing on a daily basis our senators and representatives and Obama, going to rallies, informing others etc.) to bring a quick end to the violence that has already killed more than 1000 people within the last three weeks.
I would like to redirect you to a blog that I have linked to regularly on my blog - that of Laila El-Haddad, an American Palestinian who has family in Gaza. She writes about the situtaion on the ground for those living in Gaza and it is a perspective that is essential for us to keep in mind, especially as the Israeli government has refused, up until this point, to allow foreign journalists into the war zone, making it difficult to get a variety of perspectives of what life is like for civilians living there. Please know that this blog is quite realistic, specifically because of the humanitarian crisis currently occuring in Gaza.
Next, I have found a site, called http://www.ifamericansknew.org/, that I think does a good job of summing up many of the major issues surrounding the Palestinian Israeli conflict. I do not take responsibility for what is written on the site but I can say that their historical section matches quite well with what I have learned through my undergraduate and graduate studies in France and in the United States. There is a wealth of information and many links to other interesting and little seen perspectives (for example those of the men injured in the Israeli attack of the USS Liberty, or the perspective of Orthodox Jews who do not believe in zionism. These are both interesting, and most definitly controversial, perspectives. But I believe they are as important to examine as any other.
Lastly I encourage you to visit this site, Demand a Stance, dedicated to stopping the current violence in Gaza. It is a very easy tool that connects you instantly to a form allowing you to write to your political representatives (whether you are American, British, or Canadian). They did all the work for you - it could not be easier, they even provide you with a sample letter. Take the time to do this - contacting your representatives is an essential part of changing policy.
That's all for now. Please feel free to comment. I will continue to post on the Israeli Palestinian conflict and would like to answer any questions you have or provide more information on parts that are cloudy.
Torture, Obama, and Guantanamo Bay
This post is going to serve as bit of a catch up - there has been a lot going on in the last few weeks and I would like to point you in some important directions for further research.
1) Since I am currently reseraching torture I often run across documentation of how it is ineffective. Here is a link to a well documented and interesting documentary put together by Human Rights First about the consequences on military interegators and soldiers when torture is shown in entertainment media (such as shows like Lost, Alias, or 24). Important information again demonstrating the fact that torture is not the most effective method of interogation, not to mention the moral, social, and psychological ramifications for both the victim and the torturer.
2) Yes it is true that Obama has said many times that he plans to close Guantanamo Bay within his first year in office. This is great news but unfortunately it is not the great news we are looking for. Saying one will close Guantanamo Bay is a very simplistic statement that is often mistaken for a solution to the legal, moral, social, and political problems created through the Bush administration's interrogation and detention techniques (demonstrated in an easy to see location at GB).
Unfortunately there are big questions that are not answered by this statement: where will the men who have been declared innocent (and who are still being held there) be released to? What will happen to those who are still labled enemy combattants when the prison is closed? Will there be any future oversight as to how, where and until when they will be detained?
A highly commended research report dealing with these exact questions was published in November of 2008 by Graduate Students from UC Berkeley in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights. "Guantánamo and Its Aftermath: U.S. Detention and Interrogation Practices and Their Impact on Detainees, based on a two-year study, reveals in graphic detail the cumulative effect of Bush Administration policies on the lives of 62 released detainees." Click here for a link to the website where you can find the report.
Another important question that is raised here is will there be any ramifications for the illegal detention, and interrogation techniques used at GB? Obama was recently quoted in an interview on ABC's This Week saying:
"US President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday he was not ruling out possible
prosecution for abuses committed under the George Bush administration, saying no
one "is above the law".
"We're still evaluating how we're going to approach the whole issue of
interrogations, detentions, and so forth,"...when asked about alleged abuses
under Bush." ... "Obviously we're going to be looking at past practices and I
don't believe that anybody is above the law," Obama said."
This is the first time that he has mentioned such an option. Furthermore it is an important statement since prosecution of elected officials within the executive branch is unheard of - to my knowledge it has never happend within the US government. Part of this is due to the ability of a president to give persidential pardons (as done on behalf of Nixon by President Ford).
Here is a link to a very well written, well documented article outlining a bit of the history behind executive prosecutions internationally, as well as the different options available for prosecuting Bush administration officials. I especially like this article because it focuses on the importance of educating the public on the crimes committed as a benefit in and of itself, apart from actual criminal prosecution. This is an essential step in creating a historical record that denounces the illegal practices and makes it less likely they will be repeated by future administrations. Furthermore it is very indepth but pretty easy to understand - I highly recommend taking the time to read it, it is a fantastic article.
1) Since I am currently reseraching torture I often run across documentation of how it is ineffective. Here is a link to a well documented and interesting documentary put together by Human Rights First about the consequences on military interegators and soldiers when torture is shown in entertainment media (such as shows like Lost, Alias, or 24). Important information again demonstrating the fact that torture is not the most effective method of interogation, not to mention the moral, social, and psychological ramifications for both the victim and the torturer.
2) Yes it is true that Obama has said many times that he plans to close Guantanamo Bay within his first year in office. This is great news but unfortunately it is not the great news we are looking for. Saying one will close Guantanamo Bay is a very simplistic statement that is often mistaken for a solution to the legal, moral, social, and political problems created through the Bush administration's interrogation and detention techniques (demonstrated in an easy to see location at GB).
Unfortunately there are big questions that are not answered by this statement: where will the men who have been declared innocent (and who are still being held there) be released to? What will happen to those who are still labled enemy combattants when the prison is closed? Will there be any future oversight as to how, where and until when they will be detained?
A highly commended research report dealing with these exact questions was published in November of 2008 by Graduate Students from UC Berkeley in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights. "Guantánamo and Its Aftermath: U.S. Detention and Interrogation Practices and Their Impact on Detainees, based on a two-year study, reveals in graphic detail the cumulative effect of Bush Administration policies on the lives of 62 released detainees." Click here for a link to the website where you can find the report.
Another important question that is raised here is will there be any ramifications for the illegal detention, and interrogation techniques used at GB? Obama was recently quoted in an interview on ABC's This Week saying:
"US President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday he was not ruling out possible
prosecution for abuses committed under the George Bush administration, saying no
one "is above the law".
"We're still evaluating how we're going to approach the whole issue of
interrogations, detentions, and so forth,"...when asked about alleged abuses
under Bush." ... "Obviously we're going to be looking at past practices and I
don't believe that anybody is above the law," Obama said."
This is the first time that he has mentioned such an option. Furthermore it is an important statement since prosecution of elected officials within the executive branch is unheard of - to my knowledge it has never happend within the US government. Part of this is due to the ability of a president to give persidential pardons (as done on behalf of Nixon by President Ford).
Here is a link to a very well written, well documented article outlining a bit of the history behind executive prosecutions internationally, as well as the different options available for prosecuting Bush administration officials. I especially like this article because it focuses on the importance of educating the public on the crimes committed as a benefit in and of itself, apart from actual criminal prosecution. This is an essential step in creating a historical record that denounces the illegal practices and makes it less likely they will be repeated by future administrations. Furthermore it is very indepth but pretty easy to understand - I highly recommend taking the time to read it, it is a fantastic article.
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