Obama Endorses Indefinite Detention Without Trial 22 May 2009 President Obama acknowledged publicly for the first time yesterday that some prisoners at Guantanamo Bay may have to be held without trial indefinitely, siding with conservative national security advocates on one of the most contentious issues raised by the closing of the military prison in Cuba.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/21/AR2009052104045.html

Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention For Suspects Deemed ‘National Security Threat’ –’The idea that we might find ourselves fighting with the Obama administration over these powers is really stunning.’ 21 May 2009 President Bush Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said. One participant said Mr. Obama did not seem to be thinking about preventive detention for terrorism suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay, but rather for those captured in the future, in settings other than a legitimate [?] battlefield like Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21obama.html?_r=1

While the Bagram torture center remains open: Obama Says Guantanamo Weakens Security and Must Close 21 May 2009 President Barack Obama reaffirmed his determination to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by next January, saying its existence has made the U.S. less secure and represents a corruption of American values. The president, in an address (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/21/obama-administration-guantanamo-interrogation) today in Washington, was critical of decisions made by former President [sic] George W. Bush’s administration in the war against [of] terrorism, calling some “ad hoc” and “hasty.” He called the Guantanamo prison a “misguided experiment” that has created a legal “mess.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a57RoWEYdyL0

Obama’s remarks on US national security as prepared for delivery –US president defends decision to close Guantánamo detention centre and condemns use of harsh interrogation techniques 21 May 2009 Barack Obama delivers remarks on US national security at the National Archives building in Washington.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/21/obama-administration-guantanamo-interrogation

Obama: 50 Gitmo detainees cleared for transfer 21 May 2009 Forty-eight terror suspects currently held at Guantanamo Bay are waiting to be released to other nations, the Obama administration said Thursday. The prisoners are among 50 detainees whose cases President Barack Obama said Thursday have already been reviewed. The prisoners would be the first to be released to other nations under the Obama administration’s effort to empty the Cuba-based prison without bringing all its inmates to the United States.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090521/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_guantanamo_detainees

Initial U.S. trial set for Guantanamo detainee –Attorney General says ‘high value’ prisoner to be sent to NYC for trial 21 May 2009 The Obama administration is pressing ahead with its plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, deciding to put a “high value” prisoner on trial in New York City despite resistance from some in Congress. Attorney General Eric Holder announced early Thursday that Ahmed Ghailani will be sent to New York City for trial, which would make him the first Guantanamo prisoner brought to the U.S. and the first to face trial in a civilian criminal court.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30855392/

Cheney defends waterboarding, says Guantanamo prison essential 22 May 2009 Former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney, delivering a forceful defense of the Bush regime’s interrogations of suspected terrorists and stern criticism of the Obama administration, maintained today that the CIA never tortured anyone and kept the United States safe from an attack potentially worse than the terrorism of Sept. 11, 2001. The waterboarding employed in the questioning of a few captured terrorists was essential to gleaning as much information about Al Qaeda’s intentions as quickly as possible in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, the former vice president said in a public address today.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cheney22-2009may22,0,1847797.story

RI rep.: Bush should be waterboarded for charity [No. Bush should be waterboarded until he reveals the information Cheney says is vital and necessitates the tactic: To learn who was actually behind the 9/11 terror attacks (his administration) and has ties to al-Qaeda (same).] 21 May 2009 A Rhode Island Democratic lawmaker says he’ll donate $100 to charity for every second former President [sic] George W. Bush withstands waterboarding. State Rep. Rod Driver sent letters making the offer to Bush as well as to former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney and ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Bush’s administration allowed the interrogation technique, which simulates drowning, to be used on terrorism suspects. Driver says if Bush is confident it isn’t torture, he should try it himself. His offer was reported (http://www.thewesterlysun.com/articles/2009/05/21/news/local/doc4a1549574e744954986518.txt) Thursday inThe Westerly Sun.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8520205

 

Israel to US: We reserve ‘right’ to bomb Iran 21 May 2009 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Obama administration that Tel Aviv “reserves itself operational freedom” on Iran, according to an aide. The premier during his recent visit to Washington “clarified that Israel reserves itself operational freedom, and several of the most senior figures in the Obama administration said ‘of course’,” Netanyahu’s national security advisor Uzi Arad told Israel Army Radio.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=95524&sectionid=351020202