What Excuse Remains for Obama’s Failure to Close GITMO?

[jillian]

As usual republicans taking the fact Obama got a POW back for 5 government officials as a bad thing and thinks he should just do as he pleases...maybe next time to please the republican assholes we can let them know a war THEY STARTED that has gotten a soldier taken POW 30 days before hand and then he or she will die or be executed because they need to know before hand.

Are you implying that Glenn Greenwald is a Republican, or that I am? Neither I nor Greenwald have any issue with the trade made by Obama, merely the hypocrisy in claiming that he can't act on Gitmo without Congressional approval and then going ahead and unilaterally making this move.

great?

hardly

 

[jillian]

Oh, I'm a Republican now?

Let me guess, you one of the spinoff's.

It's funny how criticizing Obama automatically makes you a Republican or a "spinoff," whatever that is. I suppose Glenn Greenwald must also be a Republican for daring to suggest that Obama lied?

it depends on what you're criticizing...

and the way you're criticizing it.

why isn't your faux rage directed at congress for not letting gitmo close?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

As usual republicans taking the fact Obama got a POW back for 5 government officials as a bad thing and thinks he should just do as he pleases...maybe next time to please the republican assholes we can let them know a war THEY STARTED that has gotten a soldier taken POW 30 days before hand and then he or she will die or be executed because they need to know before hand.

Are you implying that Glenn Greenwald is a Republican, or that I am? Neither I nor Greenwald have any issue with the trade made by Obama, merely the hypocrisy in claiming that he can't act on Gitmo without Congressional approval and then going ahead and unilaterally making this move.

great?

hardly

What?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Let me guess, you one of the spinoff's.

It's funny how criticizing Obama automatically makes you a Republican or a "spinoff," whatever that is. I suppose Glenn Greenwald must also be a Republican for daring to suggest that Obama lied?

it depends on what you're criticizing...

and the way you're criticizing it.

why isn't your faux rage directed at congress for not letting gitmo close?

Did Congress just unilaterally release five prisoners after claiming they don't have the power to do so without the President? No, the exact opposite happened, so it would be timely and relevant to criticize the President for being unable to marry these two opposite positions of his.

Do you want me to criticize Congress too? Ok. The Democrats and Republicans in Congress gave Obama a convenient excuse for not closing Gitmo because supporting him on the issue would be political suicide. They're cowards and sociopaths more concerned with their careers and prestige than with any sense of justice, just like Obama. That goes for John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Lindsay Graham, Dianne Feinstein, and oh so many others.

Happy?

 

[ClosedCaption]

Oh, I'm a Republican now?

Let me guess, you one of the spinoff's.

It's funny how criticizing Obama automatically makes you a Republican or a "spinoff," whatever that is. I suppose Glenn Greenwald must also be a Republican for daring to suggest that Obama lied?

LOL I knew I was right

 

[BlindBoo]

Oh, I'm a Republican now?

Let me guess, you one of the spinoff's.

It's funny how criticizing Obama automatically makes you a Republican or a "spinoff," whatever that is. I suppose Glenn Greenwald must also be a Republican for daring to suggest that Obama lied?

Yeah well defending him against birthers, cries of socialist/communist/nazi or any number of nutjob theories and your an Obamabot......so

 

[TooTall]

It hasn't been answered at all, actually.

They don't have to come to the U.S.

Actually, you can't have it both ways, Kevin.

Actually it's Obama having it both ways, not me. On the one hand he can't release prisoners because Congress stopped him, but on the other he can release prisoners unilaterally. Since nobody can explain the difference I'm forced to conclude that Obama lied and never intended to close Guantanamo and that that was merely campaign rhetoric to get the Democratic nomination.

I disagree. Why did he go around Congress in 2009 if not to close Gitmo?

The Obama administration has gone around Congress to buy an empty state jail once eyed for use in relocating Guantanamo Bay detainees — renewing GOP suspicion about its plans.

In 2009 President Obama set out to close the controversial military prison in Cuba and move prisoners to the Thomson Correctional Facility in Illinois. Congress slammed the door, outlawing the transfer stateside of foreign terrorists and insurgents.

Read more: Obama administration moves to purchase empty Illinois prison that was once at the center of Guantanamo military prison controversy* - NY Daily News

 

[JakeStarkey]

Congress won't let BHO close Gitmo.

End of story. Fail OP. Let's move on.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Let me guess, you one of the spinoff's.

It's funny how criticizing Obama automatically makes you a Republican or a "spinoff," whatever that is. I suppose Glenn Greenwald must also be a Republican for daring to suggest that Obama lied?

LOL I knew I was right

You got me, partner.

Oh, wait, no, you didn't. Fortunately I don't need to prove that I'm not a Republican, but if you want to go ahead and prove that I am feel free to try.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Let me guess, you one of the spinoff's.

It's funny how criticizing Obama automatically makes you a Republican or a "spinoff," whatever that is. I suppose Glenn Greenwald must also be a Republican for daring to suggest that Obama lied?

Yeah well defending him against birthers, cries of socialist/communist/nazi or any number of nutjob theories and your an Obamabot......so

I don't doubt it.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Actually, you can't have it both ways, Kevin.

Actually it's Obama having it both ways, not me. On the one hand he can't release prisoners because Congress stopped him, but on the other he can release prisoners unilaterally. Since nobody can explain the difference I'm forced to conclude that Obama lied and never intended to close Guantanamo and that that was merely campaign rhetoric to get the Democratic nomination.

I disagree. Why did he go around Congress in 2009 if not to close Gitmo?

The Obama administration has gone around Congress to buy an empty state jail once eyed for use in relocating Guantanamo Bay detainees — renewing GOP suspicion about its plans.

In 2009 President Obama set out to close the controversial military prison in Cuba and move prisoners to the Thomson Correctional Facility in Illinois. Congress slammed the door, outlawing the transfer stateside of foreign terrorists and insurgents.

Read more: Obama administration moves to purchase empty Illinois prison that was once at the center of Guantanamo military prison controversy* - NY Daily News

Well, for starters, relocating prisoners from Guantanamo to somewhere else where they'll still be under indefinite detention is not what he originally campaigned on. Secondly, when he saw how controversial that plan was he allowed Congress to beat him on the issue because winning would have been bad politics for him and his party. How do we know he let Congress win? Because he just unilaterally released 5 prisoners from Guantanamo without Congress even knowing, let alone approving. That means he believes he has the power to do so, and has all along.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Congress won't let BHO close Gitmo.

End of story. Fail OP. Let's move on.

Then how did he just release 5 prisoners without Congress even knowing, let alone approving? Or are you saying that Obama purposefully broke the law?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Let me guess, you one of the spinoff's.

It's funny how criticizing Obama automatically makes you a Republican or a "spinoff," whatever that is. I suppose Glenn Greenwald must also be a Republican for daring to suggest that Obama lied?

it depends on what you're criticizing...

and the way you're criticizing it.

why isn't your faux rage directed at congress for not letting gitmo close?

It should also be noted, since I forgot to mention it when I replied to this the first time, that most members of Congress did not campaign on closing Guantanamo Bay Prison. Obama, on the other hand, did.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Congress won't let BHO close Gitmo.

End of story. Fail OP. Let's move on.

Then how did he just release 5 prisoners without Congress even knowing, let alone approving? Or are you saying that Obama purposefully broke the law?

A prisoner exchange is not a closure of a prison.

No, Kevin, this has been explained to you and so you don't get "just once more."

 

[Peach]

Congress won't let BHO close Gitmo.

End of story. Fail OP. Let's move on.

Then how did he just release 5 prisoners without Congress even knowing, let alone approving? Or are you saying that Obama purposefully broke the law?

A prisoner exchange is not a closure of a prison.

No, Kevin, this has been explained to you and so you don't get "just once more."

Where are the countries that will accept the remaining 144? Bush let the Saudis go home, so right wingnuts can clap like trained seals.

 

[pvsi]

The excuse-making on behalf of President Obama has always found its most extreme form when it came time to explain why he failed to fulfill his oft-stated 2008 election promise to close Guantanamo. As I’ve documented many times, even the promise itself was misleading, as it became quickly apparent that Obama — even in the absence of congressional obstruction — did not intend to “close GITMO” at all but rather to re-locate it, maintaining its defining injustice of indefinite detention.

But the events of the last three days have obliterated the last remaining excuse. In order to secure the release of American POW Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the Obama administration agreed to release from Guantanamo five detainees allegedly affiliated with the Taliban. But as even stalwart Obama defenders such as Jeffery Toobin admit, Obama “clearly broke the law” by releasing those detainees without providing Congress the 30-day notice required by the 2014 defense authorization statute (law professor Jonathan Turley similarly observed that Obama’s lawbreaking here was clear and virtually undebatable).

The sole excuse now offered by Democratic loyalists for this failure has been that Congress prevented him from closing the camp. But here, the Obama White House appears to be arguing that Congress lacks the authority to constrain the President’s power to release detainees when he wants. What other excuse is there for his clear violation of a law that requires 30-day notice to Congress before any detainees are released?

But once you take the position that Obama can override — i.e., ignore — Congressional restrictions on his power to release Guantanamo detainees, then what possible excuse is left for his failure to close the camp?

What Excuse Remains for Obama’s Failure to Close GITMO?

So why should Obama not be held accountable for his lie about closing Guantanamo Bay Prison?

Obama also promised to meet with leaders of Iran and Syria to get elected in 2008, but he now has his crew demonizing Syrian leader

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Congress won't let BHO close Gitmo.

End of story. Fail OP. Let's move on.

Then how did he just release 5 prisoners without Congress even knowing, let alone approving? Or are you saying that Obama purposefully broke the law?

A prisoner exchange is not a closure of a prison.

No, Kevin, this has been explained to you and so you don't get "just once more."

Simply saying something isn't explaining it. Where is the difference codified in law?

 

[ScienceRocks]

So republicans ***** about releasing 5 terrorist and ***** about not releasing more through closing Gitmo.

You people are insane.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

So republicans ***** about releasing 5 terrorist and ***** about not releasing more through closing Gitmo.

You people are insane.

How many people have made this incorrect point now?

 

[Siete]

So republicans ***** about releasing 5 detainees and ***** about not releasing more through closing Gitmo


Better?