Germany's Der Spiegel: 'Obama Discrediting Himself and the US'

I came across an interesting article on Germany's Spiegel Online International about President Obama not living up to the expectations of our foreign counterparts, where torture is concerned. The article stated that many had hoped that US President Barack Obama would undo all the damage done by his predecessor. But it seems that he might continue the Bush-era practice of trying terror suspects in military tribunals, which has disappointed many German commentators are disappointed.

My first inclination is to say who cares, but that would so too much like the Bush Administration's mindset. There are many human rights groups across the United States who are also disappointed with the Obama Administration's latest moves, where torture is concerned. I, too, am very disappointed that President Obama has decided to let "sleeping dogs lie" instead of launching an investigation into the actions of the Bush Administration for war crimes.

When US President Barack Obama entered office in January and promptly pledged to shut down the US prison at Guantanamo and suspended all further military tribunals of the kind used by his predecessor George W. Bush, human rights groups across the country and the world were relieved. Finally, they thought, America would cease locking away terror suspects without recourse to the justice system.

Not surprisingly, though, closing down Guantanamo has proven much easier said than done. Even those prisoners deemed not to be dangerous are creating headaches for Washington as the search continues for countries willing to take them. Domestically, opposition is large to an Obama administration plan to release a group of Chinese Uighur prisoners into the US.

Many of the 241 prisoners, however, cannot simply be released -- and recent reports in the US media indicate that Obama may be grabbing for a Bush-era tool that he appeared to have jettisoned: military commissions. According to the New York Times this weekend, the Obama administration has begun leaning towards trying some of the remaining inmates in such controversial tribunals. Source: Speigel Online

This is a very volatile subject in many circles and it would be a real shame if President Obama is unable to change the perception of the United States overseas back to pre-President George W. Bush times. To read the entire article, CLICK HERE