The Shutting Down Of Guantanamo And CIA Prisions

In this photo, reviewed by the US Military, an American flag flies, with an old air-traffic control tower from a closed-down airport pictured in the background, at Camp Justice, the location of the US Military Commissions court for war crimes, at the US Naval Base, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on January 19, 2009. Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama, shown in this file photo, Jan. 12, 2009, say that one of his first duties in office will be to order the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. (Images/AP Photo )

Obama to Shut Guantánamo Site and C.I.A. Prisons
-- New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected to sign executive orders Thursday directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year, government officials said.

The orders, which would be the first steps in undoing detention policies of former President George W. Bush, would rewrite American rules for the detention of terrorism suspects. They would require an immediate review of the 245 detainees still held at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to determine if they should be transferred, released or prosecuted.

And the orders would bring to an end a Central Intelligence Agency program that kept terrorism suspects in secret custody for months or years, a practice that has brought fierce criticism from foreign governments and human rights activists. They will also prohibit the C.I.A. from using coercive interrogation methods, requiring the agency to follow the same rules used by the military in interrogating terrorism suspects, government officials said.

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More News On The Closure Of Guantanamo And CIA Prisons

Obama signs order to close Guantanamo in a year -- Yahoo News/AP
Obama to order Guantanamo closed -- Reuters
Obama to Close Guantanamo and Foreign Prisons, Limit CIA Methods -- FOX News
Plan to Eliminate Prison Faces Hurdles -- Washington Post
Obama to Close Terrorist 'Black Sites' -- Washington Times
Obama Expected To Close Guantánamo, CIA Secret Prisons -- RTT News
Obama to alter CIA detention, interrogation rules: report -- AFP
Sorting Out Guantánamo Detainees -- Christian Science Monitor
Obama Lays Groundwork For Gitmo Closure -- U.S. News And World Report
Obama to sign series of anti-torture orders -- Yahoo News/AFP
Guantanamo order foresees some detainees coming to U.S. -- McClatchy Newspapers
Obama spy chief choice backs Guantanamo closure -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Cuba to insist on Guantanamo base closure – Raul Castro -- Itar-Tass
News of Guantanamo's closure welcomed worldwide -- Yahoo News/AP

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Obama and Guantanamo -- Wall Street Journal
'Why Can't Guantanamo's Inmates Stay in America?' -- Der Spiegel
Obama and Guantanamo -- Wall Street Journal editorial
Guantanamo Remains a Problem for Obama -- Daily Telegraph editorial
Gitmo: Justice and Security -- Washington Post editorial
First Steps at Guantánamo -- New York Times editorial
Beyond Guantanamo -- Chicago Tribune
Chaos and Lies: Why Obama Was Right To Halt The Guantanamo Trials -- Huffington Post