Obama: Liar-in-Chief

Monday, 26 December 2016

Obama: Liar-in-Chief

by Stephen Lendman

Throughout his deplorable 8-year tenure, he broke every major promise made, including pledging:

hope and change;

peace in our time;

observance of democratic values;

ending torture, illegal spying and detention without trial;

“a new era of openness;”

helping Israel and Palestine “fulfill their national goals: two states living side by side in peace and security;”

on Afghanistan (October 27, 2007): “I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this (and the Iraq) war(s). You can take that to the bank,” implying an era of peace under his leadership; and

closing Guantanamo in one year; more on this below.

Instead we got endless wars of aggression. Hope and change became despair and continuity. Rule of law principles and democratic values were trashed.

Torture continues throughout America’s global gulag. Illegal spying is worse than ever. A “new era of openness” became the most secretive administration in US history, worse than Nixon.

Guantanamo remains open along with numerous other US torture prisons – run by the Pentagon and CIA, closure off-the-table.

Eight years after Obama pledged Guantanamo’s closure, it remains open – even though shuttering it and returning the land to Cuba, its rightful owner, is as simple as implementing his January 22, 2009 Executive Order, saying:

“The detention facilities at Guantanamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order.”

“If any individuals covered by this order remain, they shall be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third country, or transferred to another United States detention facility in a manner consistent with law and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”

No congressional approval is needed. Obama lied claiming otherwise. Guantanamo is a torture prison, illegally operating on occupied land Cuba wants back.

Only 59 prisoners remain, held for political reasons alone. Trump wants the facility kept open, saying he’s “gonna load it up with some bad guys,” maybe including US citizens accused of terrorism.

None were guilty of this high crime in modern memory – innocent patsies blamed for offenses they didn’t commit, some summarily executed. Dead men tell no tales.

Instead of closing Guantanamo before his tenure ends, Obama is renovating it, maybe expanding it – over $20 billion dollars earmarked for new dining, medical, housing, and perhaps other facilities for CIA and Pentagon personnel on the base.

They’ll have all the comforts of home while brutalizing political prisoners unaccountably – no credible evidence proving anyone there now or earlier guilty of any crime