WeAreTheKey

Good Start:

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Guantanamo draft order

The Obama administration circulated a draft executive order that calls for closing the controversial detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year and halting any war crimes trials in the meantime.

Closing the facility in Cuba “would further the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice,’’ read the draft prepared for the new president’s signature.

While some of the detainees currently held at Guantanamo would be released, others would be transferred elsewhere and later put on trial under terms to be determined.

It was not known when Obama intended to issue the order. He has been a longtime critic of the Bush administration’s decision to maintain the detention facility, which was opened after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the draft.

There are an estimated 245 detainees currently held at Guantanamo, out of some 800 who were sent there during the Bush administration.

The order circulated as the judge in one war crimes case agreed to Obama’s request to suspend proceedings pending a 120-day review.

Army Col. Stephen Henley issued the ruling Wednesday after a brief hearing at the U.S. base in Cuba.

The defendants opposed the delay. All have said they want to plead guilty to charges that carry a potential death sentence.

It was not immediately clear whether the request to halt proceedings was designed as a precursor to a more extensive executive order.

The draft order calls for a systematic review of the cases of each of the detainees, to determine which among them can be released and which cannot.

“It is in the interests of the United States to review whether and how such individuals can and should be prosecuted,’’ it says.

The facility at Guantanamo Bay has long been criticized by critics of the former Bush administration at home, as well as by other governments overseas, as a black eye for the United States. The administration established it early in the war on terror, contending that those held there were not entitled to the customary rights that prisoners in he United States enjoy, or to the protections of the Geneva Conventions that cover war prisoners.

The draft order notes that some of those held at the site have been there for more than six years, and most for at least four years.

The draft states that “the detention facilities at Guantanamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than one year from the date of this order.’’

At the Pentagon, military leaders were preparing for the order that spokesman Bryan Whitman said would begin a “comprehensive review of policies and procedures related to detainee activities.’’

“The president has clearly made his intentions well known,’’ Whitman said. “And he has taken the first steps with respect to his direction to order a pause to military commission proceedings.’’

Obama calls Middle East leaders

President Barack Obama has stepped into the Middle East peace effort by placing calls to four leaders from the region.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama called the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan on Wednesday morning.

Gibbs said Obama emphasized that he would work to consolidate the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Gibbs said Obama expressed “his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term.’’ Obama also expressed his hope for continued cooperation from the leaders.

Obama called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Indeed! It's hard to say if these are actions of a more symbolic nature to make a good first impression, or if he will sincerely pursue ethical reforms this aggressively.
But there is this:

In an attempt to deliver on pledges of a transparent government, Obama said he would change the way the federal government interprets the Freedom of Information Act. He said he was directing agencies that vet requests for information to err on the side of making information public — not to look for reasons to legally withhold it — an alteration to the traditional standard of evaluation.

Just because a government agency has the legal power to keep information private does not mean that it should, Obama said. Reporters and public-interest groups often make use of the law to explore how and why government decisions were made; they are often stymied as agencies claim legal exemptions to the law.

"For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city," Obama said.

He said the orders he was issuing Wednesday will not "make government as honest and transparent as it needs to be" nor go as far as he would like.

"But these historic measures do mark the beginning of a new era of openness in our country," Obama said. "And I will, I hope, do something to make government trustworthy in the eyes of the American people, in the days and weeks, months and years to come."

Nice.
My fingers are still tightly crossed...

Yes, I read that one, too. I love the sentiment, although this "anti-lobbying" memo is surely much more difficult to enforce than the more clear-cut declaration of closing Gitmo's detention center. I hope the man runs a tight ship and holds his people to high standards and accountable when they violate his policies (as most definitely some will; they ARE politicians, after all), including his new fair-haired Secretary of State.