Kerry: "Today is a great day for the rule of law in the United States of America"

[sabra]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/01/obama_close_guantanamo_within.html



President Barack Obama today signed a round of executive orders demanding the closing of the U.S.-run detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, and new rules for the conduct of interrogation of suspected terrorists.

"The message that we are sending around the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism,'' Obama said at the order-signings in the Oval Office, "and we are going to do so vigilantly, we are going to do so effectively, and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and ideals.''

Restating a commitment that he made during his inaugural address this week, the new president said: "We are not... going to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals... It is precisely our ideals that give us the strength and the moral high ground to deal with the... violence'' of terrorism.

"We intend to win this fight,'' Obama said. "We intend to win it on our terms.''

"Today is a great day for the rule of law in the United States of America.,'' said Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) "A detention facility where individuals have been held for more than seven years without charge is contrary to the most basic principles of American justice. It has done incalculable damage to our reputation for equitable justice....

"The world is watching,'' Kerry said, "and today President Barack Obama sent a clear message to people everywhere: America is ready to lead again--not just with our words, but by our example."

[PresidentObama]

1. "America is ready to lead again" - Kerry. As always, he got it right.

Close Gitmo. Finish the war in Iraq.

Send SoS Clinton around the world to extend Americas hand once again to the world.

It's a new day :)

[jillan]

16. K & R for Kerry.

[AtomicKitten]

2. The world is watching indeed! K&R

[Cha]

3. Yeah, baby, that's

what I'm talkin' about:fistbump:

This is Happening!

[chill_wind]

4. K & R! K & R.

[BOSSHOG]

5. Wait just a minute Mr Namby Pamby Senator

Its the republicans who are for the rule of law and right and wrong and always telling the truth and taking responsibility for stuff. Haven't you been listening to them for the past eight years?

[karynnj]

9. Oh yeah - he was listening and SPEAKING OUT

Which he wonderfully spoke of as being his right and responsibility. :)

Isn't this a great day!

[blm]

15. Best way to shut up a RWer is ask what side they supported on BCCI investigation, Bush or Kerry?

Heheh. It shocks the hell out of them when I tell them BushInc stonewalled investigation to protect operatives like Jackson Stephens, Dubai and Saudi royals, Bin Ladens and AQ Khan, Marc Rich, et al, and BCCI was (at its core) all about the many ways powerful financial interests would illegally fund global terrorism.

Of course, they don't know what to believe, so I send them to National Security Archives to research it themselves.

[karynnj]

17. That is a fantastic question to ask any RWinger going on about Marc Rich at this point

The amazing thing is that Kerry did this partially as a Senator with about 7 years of seniority at the END of his his 5 year investigation - and that was after he exposed the illegal arming of the Contras.

[blm]

19. Which is exactly why establishment DC will always keep him targeted, and the corpmedia obliges them.

Sad that so many rank and file Dems are still so unaware of how MUCH they have helped the fascist revisionists when they took their uninformed shots at Kerry.

[BOSSHOG]

22. Can ya ever really shut em up ...

they just drone on to hear their own voices whether anyone is listening or not.

[blm]

23. Last October I did just that with TWO Republican lawyers in Ohio while visiting there.

Both ended up with their eyes wider open and agreed that the closing off of government around dealings like BCCI led to both the economic AND security crisis the world faces today.

[ohtransplant]

6. Proud of America today...

and our new President amd Senator Kerry for standing firmly with him.

[ClarkUSA]

7. Thank you, John Kerry, for helping to make President Obama a reality...

I doubt any other candidate would have done this so fast without plenty of pandering and triangulating. Not so with Barack!

[PresidentObama]

8. And thank you John Kerry for your work in 2006 and 2008 to give us a Democratic majority...

...so that President Obama's vision can be a reality!

[ClarkUSA]

11. Amen and absolutely. Kerry has been selfless and classy, unlike so many other pols.

I admire him immensely and know he'll do great things for the country working hand-in-glove with his friend, President Obama.

[karynnj]

10. Well - there was at least one in 2004 who would have

-one who first came to public notice speaking out against a war that was wrong and speaking of the need to change foreign policy. There is no way he would ever have hedged that.

Congratulations to Obama for doing it.

[politicasista]

12. K & R

This is great day! :kick:

[ProSense]

13. Kerry's full statement

01/22/2009

Kerry Hails Signing of Executive Orders

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) issued the following statement after President Obama signed Executive Orders that will close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay within a year and demand an end to the use of coercive interrogation techniques:

“Today is a great day for the rule of law in the United States of America. A detention facility where individuals have been held for more than seven years without charge is contrary to the most basic principles of American justice. It has done incalculable damage to our reputation for equitable justice. The use of coercive or ‘enhanced’ interrogation techniques, some in clear violation of the Geneva Convention, should never have been authorized. These policies have not only hurt our international standing but actually diminished our security. Today's decisions mark a vital first step on the road to restoring our national honor, reviving our moral leadership, and addressing the root causes of terrorism. The world is watching, and today President Barack Obama sent a clear message to people everywhere: America is ready to lead again—not just with our words, but by our example.”

(emphasis added)

Best two days of a Presidency ever.

GOBAMA!

[karynnj]

18. It is things like this that make the victory in 2008 so sweet

This is part of the change we voted for.

[Hope And Change]

14. "The world is watching,''I like that quote.K & R!

[globalvillage]

20. Sen. Kerry, like the rest of us, has waited a long time for this day.

There's a reason he was applauded by the Senate gallery yesterday. He always stands up for what he believes is right, and people feel that.

Great statement, and huge kudos to Prez Obama!

[BootinUp]

21. Exciting stuff! K&R