George Stephanopoulos reports on events in politics, Congress and the White House for ABCNews, on the air and online. He interviews top newsmakers, discusses the events of the week and looks to the week ahead each Sunday on 'This Week.'
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Obama: Closing Gitmo More Difficult Than People Realize
January 11, 2009 9:07 AM
During our exclusive interview on "This Week" I asked President-elect Barack Obama if he thought he could make good on his campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay within his first 100 days.
"It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize," Obama told me during the interview, his first since arriving back in Washington, D.C. as president-elect.
"We are going to get it done but part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom may be very dangerous, who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication. And some of the evidence against them may be tainted even though it’s true," Obama said.
"And so how to balance creating a process that adheres to rule of law, habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo-American legal system, by doing it in a way that doesn’t result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up. That’s a challenge."
The president-elect signaled that closing Guantanamo Bay won't happen quickly, but he said unequivocally that it will close.
"I think it’s going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak to help design exactly what we need to do," he said. "But I don’t want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution. That is not only the right thing to do but it actually has to be part of our broader national security strategy because we will send a message to the world that we are serious about our values."
--George Stephanopoulos
January 11, 2009 in This Week with George Stephanopoulos | Permalink | Share | User Comments (9)
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Obama is an idealist, a dreamer who got a hard dose of reality when he started getting real security updates. On top of that, no one wants the detainees, I know Kansas is fighting tooth and nail (from the gov on down) to keep them out of Leavenworth.
Posted by: samhiguchi | Jan 11, 2009 9:37:36 AM
I couldn't agree with you more. He must now realize that Bush wasn't as incompetent as the media and others portrayed him to be. I do think Obama will do what is best for our country. It will be hard for him, giving the far left critics he'll have to deal with. But I have faith in him, and I did not vote for him. But he does have my support now. Too bad Bush didn't have the support of the people who did not vote for him, things might have turned out differently for the country if he did have their support.
Posted by: Jami17 | Jan 11, 2009 1:25:41 PM
Barry Hussein Bush?
Barack Walker O'bama?
George Walker Obama?
All he needs is to start saying
"NUCULER" for the metamorphosis to be complete!
Welcome back, Mr. President!
Posted by: elixelx | Jan 11, 2009 4:24:34 PM
Obama did not ever promise to "close Guantanamo Bay within his first 100 days" and you DIDN'T ASK HIM WHAT YOU CLAIM TO HAVE ASKED. One can only assume that you're trying to inject some sensationalism, some conflict, some "newsworthiness" into your article.
Lying about what you yourself said, when the transcript is readily available, is not a good way to get rating points. Try committing journalism.
Posted by: Bob Munck | Jan 11, 2009 6:59:56 PM
It is more important to get this right, rather than getting it done quickly.
Stop second guessing the PE Obama.
It appears he wants them shipped to another country, not to Kansas, etc.
Stop making things up and being sensationaling. Geez!
Posted by: Candy | Jan 11, 2009 11:17:17 PM
What's that smell?
Coffee?
Posted by: drjohn | Jan 12, 2009 1:12:08 PM
Mr.Obama's birth certificate is where? Was he born in another country?
Posted by: jean | Jan 16, 2009 9:26:25 AM
Wake UP! Obama's comment about following "the rule of law" like a civil criminal case is EXACTLY what the Clintons did. They treated terrorism as criminal offenses not as a war. That go easy approach led to 9/11 and will allow the bad guys to slip through the cracks again. Let's hope that they only use planes again, not small atomic weapons
Posted by: Dave | Jan 20, 2009 4:11:17 PM
Not so easy, eh, smart guy? Easy to criticize when you don't have to shoulder the responsibility yourself.
Oh, and btw, only citizens of the United States are accorded Constitutional protection.
I think we're abouut to enter the Clinton era again, where we try to treat foreign, terrorist mass murderer like an a crime and not an act of war.
Posted by: John | Jan 22, 2009 10:34:55 AM
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