"We Don't Have Time For This!"... Or Do We?

It seems that the new American President has made one or two decisions already that have been both noticed and welcomed in the international press. In an article from "Le Devoir":

Finies la torture et les prisons secrètes

Claude Lévesque

Barack Obama a ordonné hier la fermeture de la prison de Guantánamo d'ici un an ainsi que le gel de toutes les procédures devant les tribunaux d'exception qui y siègent, de même que la fermeture, «le plus tôt possible», des geôles secrètes de la CIA et l'interdiction des formes d'interrogatoires, largement qualifiées de torture, qui ont été pratiquées par les États-Unis depuis le 11-Septembre 2001.

And then from The Times:

Philippe Naughton

Barack Obama has wasted no time in getting down to the business of government, asking prosecutors to halt controversial military trials at Guantanamo Bay within hours of his inauguration.

The request was issued via the Department of Defence even as President Obama and his wife Michelle waltzed their way through a series of glitzy inaugural balls.

Mr Obama pledged during his campaign to close the prison camp on Cuba set up in 2001 to hold detainees from the 'War on Terror'. The camp's legality has always been questioned, and former inmates and human rights experts said the harsh interrogation techniques deployed inside it amounted to torture.

Last night's request was for a 120-day stay in the trials of five alleged 9/11 plotters - including the self-proclaimed 'mastermind' behind America's worst terror attack - and of a Canadian accused of killing a US soldier in Afghanistan. Mr Obama had been expected to issue an executive order as early as today for the full closure of the camp, but accepts that it might take months to rehouse some 250 inmates still held there.

And then from Le Monde we have an expansion of the theme.

Guantanamo a marqué les années Bush. Bagram ternira-t-il l'ère Obama ? Situé au nord-est de Kaboul, le plus important centre de détention américain d'Afghanistan compte près de 630 prisonniers capturés par les forces de la coalition. Afghans pour la plupart, tous ne sont pas des "combattants ennemis", mais, à en croire les rapports du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR), leur sort n'a rien à envier à celui des détenus de Guantanamo.

The international press is on to something here. The question is: How far is President Obama willing to go on this?