revision
05-27-2009, 02:26 PM
Petraeus: Gitmo closure boosts war on terror
Wed, 27 May 2009 13:46:51 GMT
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=96169§ionid=3510203
General David Petraeus has said that the executive order to shut down the Guantanamo detention center was in favor of the country's trademark 'war on terror'.
"I think, on balance, that those moves help it," said the commander of the US forces in Iraq in a Sunday interview on the decision by President Barack Obama to close the infamous Cuba-based facility by January 2010 and to end the torture-aided interrogation of the so-called 'terror suspects'.
The prison, where the suspects have been reportedly subjected to the harsh grilling methods since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, has been denounced by the president as a "sad chapter in American history."
Speaking to Radio Free Europe, Petraeus, though, insisted that the move had to be done "in a responsible manner" leaving guidelines as to "what to do with the detainees who are left" and "how to deal with them in a legal way."
While the prospects of the closure are expected to improve the tarnished American image, Petraeus said the Department of Justice was working out the technicalities of potential "continued incarceration" of some of the detainees.
Similar comments as well as Obama's apparent indecision as to the prosecution of former officials who had reportedly authorized the ill-treatment, however, have thrown into question whether the troublesome legacy will ever come to an end.
The general also commented on the recent calamitous US raids on suspected militant dens on Afghanistan's common border with Pakistan which has killed scores of civilians saying "well, first of all, it is a problem," but "we shouldn't have our soldiers go into a fight with one arm tied behind their back."
The raids have sent the Taliban deep into Pakistan where major towns and cities now bear insurgent influence.
Wed, 27 May 2009 13:46:51 GMT
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=96169§ionid=3510203
General David Petraeus has said that the executive order to shut down the Guantanamo detention center was in favor of the country's trademark 'war on terror'.
"I think, on balance, that those moves help it," said the commander of the US forces in Iraq in a Sunday interview on the decision by President Barack Obama to close the infamous Cuba-based facility by January 2010 and to end the torture-aided interrogation of the so-called 'terror suspects'.
The prison, where the suspects have been reportedly subjected to the harsh grilling methods since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, has been denounced by the president as a "sad chapter in American history."
Speaking to Radio Free Europe, Petraeus, though, insisted that the move had to be done "in a responsible manner" leaving guidelines as to "what to do with the detainees who are left" and "how to deal with them in a legal way."
While the prospects of the closure are expected to improve the tarnished American image, Petraeus said the Department of Justice was working out the technicalities of potential "continued incarceration" of some of the detainees.
Similar comments as well as Obama's apparent indecision as to the prosecution of former officials who had reportedly authorized the ill-treatment, however, have thrown into question whether the troublesome legacy will ever come to an end.
The general also commented on the recent calamitous US raids on suspected militant dens on Afghanistan's common border with Pakistan which has killed scores of civilians saying "well, first of all, it is a problem," but "we shouldn't have our soldiers go into a fight with one arm tied behind their back."
The raids have sent the Taliban deep into Pakistan where major towns and cities now bear insurgent influence.