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QuasiMondo · 05-15-2009, 02:40 PM

Well, it's like this:

The world rejoiced when Obama was sworn in. "Hooray!" they cheered. And then on his second day in office, he ordered the closing of Guantanamo. "Hooray!" they cheered again. And then he said, "since I'm closing Gitmo, who wants to help me out in taking in these prisoners?" And they all fell silent. Even the crickets stayed silent, fearing even a single chirp could be interpreted as agreeing to accept them.

So nobody wants to take these prisoners (save for that one symbolic but meaningless gesture by Germany). And nobody wants to set them free, especially if there's the possibility that they could resurface as a somebody high up in the al Queda hierarchy, like Said Ali al-Shihri, or become suicide bombers, like Abdallah Saleh al-Ajmi. So with no foreign nation willing to take them, and no American city willing to take them, what is to be done with them?

Some call his actions cowardice; I call them unfortunate reality checks. He probably would've been on pace to close Guantanamo by the end of the year if he had found people willing to take these prisoners in. He probably would've had no problem releasing the remainder of the Abu Grahib photos if there wasn't for the thirst for revenge that he never anticipated when he declassified the Justice Dept memos on interrogations. American forces would've been withdrawn in under six months if it wasn't for the logistical impossibility of it all, coupled with his realization of how fragile the peace is and how easily it could degenerate back into the bloody Sunni/Shiite battles that nearly tore the country apart.

Reality bites, and even the man that many of us have put hope and faith in can't change that.

05-15-2009, 02:40 PM	#7 (permalink)
QuasiMondo Wise-ass Latino Location: Pretoria (Tshwane), RSA	Well, it's like this: The world rejoiced when Obama was sworn in. "Hooray!" they cheered. And then on his second day in office, he ordered the closing of Guantanamo. "Hooray!" they cheered again. And then he said, "since I'm closing Gitmo, who wants to help me out in taking in these prisoners?" And they all fell silent. Even the crickets stayed silent, fearing even a single chirp could be interpreted as agreeing to accept them. So nobody wants to take these prisoners (save for that one symbolic but meaningless gesture by Germany). And nobody wants to set them free, especially if there's the possibility that they could resurface as a somebody high up in the al Queda hierarchy, like Said Ali al-Shihri, or become suicide bombers, like Abdallah Saleh al-Ajmi. So with no foreign nation willing to take them, and no American city willing to take them, what is to be done with them? Some call his actions cowardice; I call them unfortunate reality checks. He probably would've been on pace to close Guantanamo by the end of the year if he had found people willing to take these prisoners in. He probably would've had no problem releasing the remainder of the Abu Grahib photos if there wasn't for the thirst for revenge that he never anticipated when he declassified the Justice Dept memos on interrogations. American forces would've been withdrawn in under six months if it wasn't for the logistical impossibility of it all, coupled with his realization of how fragile the peace is and how easily it could degenerate back into the bloody Sunni/Shiite battles that nearly tore the country apart. Reality bites, and even the man that many of us have put hope and faith in can't change that. __________________ Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer. -From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator