Today, President Obama issued an executive order to halt the torture of suspects, close down the Guantanamo detention center, ban secret CIA prisons overseas and fight terrorism "in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals." According to the order, Guantanamo will be closed within a year.
I think this is a good idea. It is wrong to keep men without charges. Some horrible things have been done to the men in the Guantanamo prison camp. There are accounts of torturing and abusing the prisoners to get info from them. Some have even been waterboarded, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning.
Interestingly, 48% of Americans want Guantanamo to remain open. There are questions that remain unanswered. Where will these men go? Will they return home with even more resentment and kill even more Americans? Yes, closing Guantanamo will restore moral authority, but will it strengthen national security? These policy changes will jeopardize U.S. ability to get intelligence about terrorist plans or to prevent attacks. Obama, however, is certain that the nation's security is strengthened — not weakened — when the U.S. adheres to "core standards of conduct", saying "We don't torture".
So far, it seems Obama has been focusing alot on foreign policy.
