To slow prisoner transfers, Pentagon officials have refused to provide photographs, complete medical records and other basic documentation to foreign governments willing to take detainees, administration officials said. They have made it increasingly difficult for foreign delegations to visit Guantanamo, limited the time foreign officials can interview detainees and barred delegations from spending the night at Guantanamo.
Partly as a result of the Pentagon's maneuvers, it is increasingly doubtful that Obama will fulfill a pledge he made in the 2008 presidential election: to close the detention center at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama criticized President George W. Bush for having set up the prison for foreigners seized in the "War on Terror" after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., and then keeping them there for years without trial.
When Obama took office, the prison held 242 detainees, down from a peak of about 680 in 2003. Today, with little more than a year remaining in his presidency, it still holds 107 detainees.
Pentagon officials denied any intentional effort to slow transfers.
The article goes on to say that this Pentagon obstructionism was part of the reason that the President removed Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and that since then he has lit a fire under the defense department to get this process moving at a faster pace.
Even if the Pentagon cooperates however the Republicans are set to block Obama from moving the most dangerous detainees to Federal prisons, though it sounds as if the President is perfectly willing to use executive orders to bypass them if necessary.
It is hard to blame the President for losing his patience with this since he has been working on it virtually his entire time in the White House.
One thing that can be said about President Obama, when he makes a promise he does everything in his power to keep it.
This issue alone is enough to prove republicans are not fiscal conservatives.
ReplyDeleteExecutive order away, Mr. President!
ReplyDeleteI detest Republicans - will never vote for another one in my life on national, state or local levels!
ReplyDeletePlease continue using Executive Orders, Mr. President. You deserve doing so more than any other POTUS!
Fuck Republicans and the Pentagon heads!!!
The cost of keeping even ONE prisoner there is astonomical. The savings would be MILLIONS of dollars a year once it is closed and the prisoners either transferred or released.
ReplyDeleteHold on a minute. Every person working the Pentagon ultimately reports to the president. He should start rolling Pentagon heads for insubordination.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was thinking. Why should they have any say whatsoever? I realize that our checks and balances form of government was put into place for a good reason but, at this point, what's the point of being president?
DeleteFunny, but I thought President Obama was the Commander in Chief? The head of all the military. He can order them to do anything in that capacity and if they disobey his orders?
ReplyDeleteIt's either legal and they have to follow his orders or it's not legal and he's using this as an excuse.
Pentagon? Mmmph! Check who the vendors are who are assisting the generals with this. And who owns those companies!
ReplyDeleteObama-Led Coalition Killed 10 Major ISIS Leaders While GOP Ignores The Military’s Hard Work
ReplyDeletehttp://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/12/29/obama-led-coalition-killed-10-major-isis-leaders-while-gop-ignores-the-militarys-hard-work/
Pentagon Paid Up To $6.8 Million Of Taxpayer Money To Pro Sports Teams For Military Tributes
ReplyDeleteHonors shouldn't be "taxpayer-funded marketing gimmicks," senators say in new report.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/defense-military-tributes-professional-sports_5639a04ce4b0411d306eda5e
You’re watching Pentagon propaganda: “American Idol,” “Ice Road Truckers” and the truth about your favorite shows
A series of FOIA requests reveals just how wide-ranging the Defense Department's influence in Hollywood really is
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/31/youre_watching_pentagon_propaganda_american_idol_ice_road_truckers_and_the_truth_about_your_favorite_shows/
retro
The Pentagon Propaganda Machine Rears Its Head
http://www.cato.org/blog/pentagon-propaganda-machine-rears-its-head
800 pound gorilla
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/pentagon-budget-deal-charts-cuts
Can't touch this
http://assets.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/Defense_Leadopener.jpg
A closer look at the $361 billion handed to military contractors in 2012 reveals the enormous amount of stuff the modern military consumes. Some of the items on the shopping list:
http://www.motherjones.com/files/defense-ribbon-x6-960update.jpg
Poster Boy for Bush. After fading from the headlines, Iraq is about to become front page news again, now that Track Palin is off to the front. John McCain and Joe Biden both have sons in the military, but they rarely discuss their children's military service. Sarah Palin has no such compunction, however.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/opinion/article/Palin-s-son-becomes-poster-boy-for-GOP-as-Bush-1284681.php
President Obama, while on vacation, took the fight to ISIS, actually the American trained Iraqi Army did, and even killed some of the high leaders.
ReplyDeleteWhip out that pen and send some heads rolling in the Pentagon. Just call it "fiscal responsibility" to appease what's left of the GOP.
OT Rick Kasick (sp?) is calling off his run for office.