Obama Orders Closure of Guantanamo Prison, Interrogations Must Follow Army Field Manual

Obama also nullified every legal order and opinion on interrogations issued by any lawyer in the executive branch after Sept. 11, 2001.

The Washington Post reports that with the stroke of his pen, Obama effectively declared an end to the so-called “war on terror.”

Obama signed the executive orders at a signing ceremony attended by 16 retired generals and admirals who had spoken out against torture. Obama discussed the executive orders during his first visit as president to the State Department.

Questions still remain however over whether the CIA will continue to use secret interrogations techniques not authorized in the Army Field Manual.

At his confirmation hearing to become intelligence director, Retired Admiral Dennis Blair suggested Thursday that some interrogation procedures would need to remain secret so potential adversaries could not train to resist them.

To talk more about President Obama’s executive orders, we are joined in the Firehouse by Vincent Warren, the executive director of the Center For Constitutional Rights.

Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Related Links

• Center for Constitutional Rights