4 ms·

I'm sure the Obama administration is just far too busy with finally getting around to the FEMA camps and gun confiscation to answer every little conservative co

I'm sure the Obama administration is just far too busy with finally getting around to the FEMA camps and gun confiscation to answer every little conservative conspiracy claim.

mistermann 10y ago
Maybe he's too busy closing down Gitmo right?
- 1024core 10y ago
  You can't say he didn't try. But the Republican response was so over the top, portraying the prisoners as some sort of supervillains with superpowers, that it never happened. I don't know why the Republicans are so scared of these prisoners.
  - leereeves 10y ago
    And sharing NSA data (obtained without a warrant) with the Justice Department? https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/01/obama-expands-surveillance-powers-his-way-out https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/01/obama-expands-surveill... Can't blame that one on Republicans.
    - willstrafach 10y ago
      If you are actually interested in getting an understanding of what happened, you may want to read the declassified source document instead of reading the EFF's take on an incorrect portion of the NYT article.
      - leereeves 10y ago
        Or you could share what you know that you think the NYT writer did not.
  - mistermann 10y ago
    I'm far from an expert on these things, but is this a mischaracterization in your opinion? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/24/obama-guantanamo-bay-closure-republicans https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/24/obama-guanta... Just one example: "The day before the Archives speech, the Democratic-held Senate dealt Obama’s plans an even harsher blow. By a blowout bipartisan margin of 90-9, the Senate rejected financing the closure. A Senate leadership aide at the time, stunned by what she considered White House lassitude, explained why even people inclined to help Obama would vote against the measure: Obama had decreed Guantánamo be closed without presenting lawmakers with a specific plan they could defend to skeptical constituents." To be fair though, there's a lot in that article to justify getting angry at both Democrats and Republicans. For example: "As implied by the term, Graham spent the summer of 2009 looking beyond Guantánamo. His basic proposition to the White House, reported in detail in Charlie Savage’s 2015 book Power Wars, was to deliver the votes in the Senate for shuttering Guantánamo and opening a replacement facility. In exchange, Graham wanted a broader wartime detentions policy than Obama was willing to embrace. It would allow the US military to continue making captures far beyond the declared battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, sending them to the alternative site. When trial was an option, it would occur in the military commissions." Dirty politics, absolutely unacceptable (to me). These things are extremely complicated. I really dislike this simplistic recurring narrative (not you specifically, I'm speaking in general) that everything is the Republican's fault. I have no problem believing this is usually true, it is the implicit assertion that it is always true that bothers me. Although, the Republicans now have a historic opportunity to show their true colors with no excuses....I am ready to be extremely disappointed.
leereeves 10y ago
Are you dismissing these claims (which were made by a long time DHS employee, not by me) simply because you support the politician involved? Surely you aren't claiming to know more than he does.

I'm sure the Obama administration is just far too busy with finally getting around to the FEMA camps and gun confiscation to answer every little conservative conspiracy claim.

mistermann 10y ago

Maybe he's too busy closing down Gitmo right?

1024core 10y ago
You can't say he didn't try. But the Republican response was so over the top, portraying the prisoners as some sort of supervillains with superpowers, that it never happened. I don't know why the Republicans are so scared of these prisoners.
- leereeves 10y ago
  And sharing NSA data (obtained without a warrant) with the Justice Department? https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/01/obama-expands-surveillance-powers-his-way-out https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/01/obama-expands-surveill... Can't blame that one on Republicans.
  - willstrafach 10y ago
    If you are actually interested in getting an understanding of what happened, you may want to read the declassified source document instead of reading the EFF's take on an incorrect portion of the NYT article.
    - leereeves 10y ago
      Or you could share what you know that you think the NYT writer did not.
- mistermann 10y ago
  I'm far from an expert on these things, but is this a mischaracterization in your opinion? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/24/obama-guantanamo-bay-closure-republicans https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/24/obama-guanta... Just one example: "The day before the Archives speech, the Democratic-held Senate dealt Obama’s plans an even harsher blow. By a blowout bipartisan margin of 90-9, the Senate rejected financing the closure. A Senate leadership aide at the time, stunned by what she considered White House lassitude, explained why even people inclined to help Obama would vote against the measure: Obama had decreed Guantánamo be closed without presenting lawmakers with a specific plan they could defend to skeptical constituents." To be fair though, there's a lot in that article to justify getting angry at both Democrats and Republicans. For example: "As implied by the term, Graham spent the summer of 2009 looking beyond Guantánamo. His basic proposition to the White House, reported in detail in Charlie Savage’s 2015 book Power Wars, was to deliver the votes in the Senate for shuttering Guantánamo and opening a replacement facility. In exchange, Graham wanted a broader wartime detentions policy than Obama was willing to embrace. It would allow the US military to continue making captures far beyond the declared battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, sending them to the alternative site. When trial was an option, it would occur in the military commissions." Dirty politics, absolutely unacceptable (to me). These things are extremely complicated. I really dislike this simplistic recurring narrative (not you specifically, I'm speaking in general) that everything is the Republican's fault. I have no problem believing this is usually true, it is the implicit assertion that it is always true that bothers me. Although, the Republicans now have a historic opportunity to show their true colors with no excuses....I am ready to be extremely disappointed.

leereeves 10y ago

Are you dismissing these claims (which were made by a long time DHS employee, not by me) simply because you support the politician involved? Surely you aren't claiming to know more than he does.