Obama Takes First Step in Undoing Bush Decisions on Torture

Barack Obama started the process of undoing George Bush’s decisions the very day he was inaugurated President, according to reports. A 120 day moratorium has been placed on the process of prosecuting the prisoners at Guantanamo.

President Obama had said during his inaugural address that he didn’t believe in the country giving up its ideals for security and has already taken steps to prove that. The announcement was made on CNN Tuesday night. Perhaps Obama knew about the book Representative John Conyers is writing. Conyers is Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that had rejected proposals to impeach George Bush for violations during his Presidency. Reports say that Conyers believes that a moratorium needs to be placed on the prosecution of the prisoners both at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay in order to examine whether federal laws were violated. This comes right after Judge Susan Crawford, the top military official who is overseeing the military trials of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo made her own decisions on the matter of the treatment of prisoners. Crawford said that she could not bring Mohammed al-Qahtani, the man who had been called the “20th hijacker” on 9/11, to trial because he had been tortured. Al-Qatanai, in recanting a 2006 confession, said that he had admitted guilt under torture that included being beaten, restrained for long periods, The Bush administration had previously denied that it had authorized torture. That claim was contrary to that made by Crawford, a Republican. Susan. J. Crawford is the top Bush administration official overseeing the military trials of terrorist suspects held at the U.S. prison in Cuba. She told The Washington Post that the United States tortured a Saudi man in 2002. The legal implications of the treatment prevented her from bringing him to trial. The case of Mohammed al-Qahtani, whom officials have claimed was to have been the "20th hijacker" on 9/11, reveals the complications that Obama has in order to close the prison where Qahtani is held. The judge, a Republican, underlined her reasons for refusing to refer Qahtani’s case for prosecution by saying, "We tortured Qahtani, His treatment met the legal definition of torture, and that's why I did not refer the case.” Yesterday’s decision brings into focus the direction that Obama said he would take following his election as President in having a transparent government that abided by its ethical rules. It also overturns a policy admitted by Bush during an interview with Fox News' Brit Hume, when the former President admitted that he had personally authorized the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed . Bush said at the time, "And I'm in the Oval Office and I am told that we have captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the professionals believe he has information necessary to secure the country. So I ask what tools are available for us to find information from him and they gave me a list of tools." Bush continued, "And so we got legal opinions before any decision was made." Maintaining security and American ideals Obama has said is his goal. This early decision on the matter of torture may be that first step in the process of reminding the nation that he means business about his promises. It sends a new message to America's original partners in the Iraq conflict, the Middle Eastern countries involved and the rest of the world that this new President will make the changes promised.