Obama Vows to Close GITMO By The Time Sarah Palin Assumes Office in 2013
Actually it could be before then, but it certainly isn’t going to happen any time soon.
The New York Times: Obama Says Guantánamo Won’t Close by January
“President Obama acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that his administration would miss a self-imposed deadline to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by mid-January, admitting the difficulties of following through on one of his first pledges as president.”
“Guantánamo, we had a specific deadline that was missed,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with NBC News in Beijing during his weeklong trip to Asia. Hours after he spoke, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. defended the administration’s decision to try five suspected terrorists in New York City — a move closely tied to its efforts to close Guantánamo.”
“It’s almost time for Karl Roveand me to do that “Har. Har. We were right” dance. We probably won’t get it, since the President’s 3-D Defense (Delay, Dither, Dance) doesn’t provide the sort of clear statement we’d need to make our prediction correct. But I’m still wagering that by 2012, Gitmo will still be open for business and Islamists head-choppers will still be staying there.”
“President Obama campaigned on closing Gitmo immediately and took office saying he’d do it within a year. Well, reality has reared its ugly – and completely predictable – head.”
“I think the fact of the matter is that Obama is now beginning to realize that the promises he made during his candidacy were naive. I suppose I could be more cynical and say that he never intended to keep any of these promises at all, but even giving him the benefit of the doubt reveals that he was not even vaguely ready to be President.”
“Instead of taking the time to review the issues and confer with Congress, Obama instead leaped to sign his executive order closing Gitmo within a year. It speaks to the unpreparedness of the President that he didn’t understand that issue despite demagoguing on it for two years on the campaign trail. Now Obama has made himself look foolish…”
