Holder Visits Tower of London, Talks About 21st-Century Torture

United States Attorney General Eric Holder visited the Tower of London during a European swing through three cities during which he's "seeking allies' help to close Guantanamo Bay, fight terrorism, and catch cyber-criminals."

The attorney general did not say how much longer he thought it would take to relocate the Guantanamo [Bay] detainees. Before officials can meet President Barack Obama's January deadline, the U.S. must first decide which detainees to put on trial and which to release to the U.S. or other countries.

Holder said the first step is to decide how many total detainees will be freed.

"We're doing these all on a rolling basis," he said. "I think we're probably relatively close to making some calls."

Whole story here.

Below, Glenn Greenwald waterboards Obama's iffy stance on civil liberties. And here, Reason.tv's Michael C. Moynihnan asking whether the president's statements about reversing Bush admin detention policies are just a "head fake":

Comments

[madmikefisk]

"We're relatively close to making some calls."

Translation: "I've got a plan... to plan a planning meeting for another plan..."

[Fist of Etiquette]

If Obama's foreign policy is the Titanic, then I guess the Gitmo prisoners are the deck chairs.

[Pat Rogers]

The Obama Democrats are authoritarians who have no respect for the rule of law, truth or human rights.

Early in March they said there were no plans for putting troops on the Mexican border. Last week they ask congress for $350-million to put troops on the border. Obama Militarizing Drug War Lies

[crimethink]

Later, Hilary Clinton met with Ahminejad in Munich and promised peace in our time, while Obama's HHS secy held a press conference at Auschwitz to reassert support for funding international abortion organizations.

[Technomist]

This is not a british problem, it is an American one, which the USA should take to solve.

The UK has a set of immigration rules. There are no provisions in them for people to emigrate to the UK on the basis of having been tane by the USA to Guantanamo.

If Eric Holder is going to presume to nominate people for immigration into the UK, can the British attorney general nomimate some people the UK similarly doesn't want, to go to live in America at US taxpayers' expense?

I thought not. Obama is still doesn't get it - he's still sending his minions trying to foist one-sided deals on America's allies.

[R C Dean]

Obama is still doesn't get it - he's still sending his minions trying to foist one-sided deals on America's allies.

And doing so after insulting them or undermining them. If I was a Brit, I'd be thinking "After giving us a box of DVDs, ashcanning the "special relationship", and returning the bust of Winston Churchill, now he wants favors?"

[JB]

I can't wait to see Obama in prison.

His administration is sending all sorts of people to torture for victimless crimes. Most people would describe anal rape as torture.

[Herrick and his balls]

Most people would describe anal rape as torture.

Tough. I refuse to give up my right to be anally raped.