U.S. President Barack
Obama: Still cleaning up after Bush?
Obama's 'Admission of Failure' is Attempt to Put Bush Years
to Rest (Le Monde, France)
"Rebuilding the image of American democracy in the
Arab-Muslim world, where it has suffered special abuse due to the war on
terror, is a mission that can only be welcomed. ... After September 11, 2001
attacks, the United States placed too much emphasis on the need for security.
Obama wants to restore the balance on the side of freedom. He's right, even if,
as is often the case with Obama, his speech remained very incantatory."
Are
the Americans ready to turn the page on September 11? Can the United States get
past the Bush years and end the "global war on terrorism"? President
Obama made such a request in an eloquent and important speech
at the National Defense University on May 23. For him, "this war, like
all wars, must end. That’s what history advises.That’s what our democracy demands."
The
speech was in itself an admission of failure: during his first election
campaign in 2008, Obama had already expressed his desire to end the Bush-Cheney
counter-terrorism strategy. During his first term, he abandoned Bush's anti-terror
rhetoric - but not its methods. It is no longer an issue, in the vocabulary of
American presidents, of a "global war on terrorism" or "Islamo-fascists." Rather, the Democratic president has
failed to keep his promise to close the Guantanamo prison camp, where 166
suspects continue to be held without trial, and 100 are on a hunger strike; and
drone attacks to liquidate targets under CIA auspices considered a terrorist
threat have increased.
Barack
Obama has now begun his second and final term in the White House, during which
he can contemplate the impression he wants to leave the country without concerning
himself with reelection. Rebuilding the image of American democracy in the
Arab-Muslim world, where it has suffered special abuse due to the war on
terror, is a mission that can only be welcomed.
In
this speech, the head of state set out to rearrange the arsenal of
counter-terrorism to bring it more in line with American values. It will now be
the military, not the CIA, which will decide which drone strikes to carry out.
The criteria for these strikes and the choice of targets will now be more
strictly controlled, allowing better democratic oversight and avoid maximum
civilian casualties.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
He
has also committed - once again - to closing the prison at Guantanamo. To this
end, he asked Congress to lift restrictions that prevent the transfer of 86
detainees considered releasable and to help resolve the legal headache created
by the status of prisoners and their torture during questioning.
A
good jurist, Barack Obama perfectly articulated the challenge posed to
democratic societies by the permanent terrorist threat, "to strike the
appropriate balance between our need for security and preserving those freedoms
that make us who we are." After September 11, 2001 attacks, the United
States placed too much emphasis on the need for security. Obama wants to restore
the balance on the side of freedom. He's right, even if, as is often the case with
Obama, his speech remained very incantatory.
Over
the past twelve years, the terrorist threat has evolved. It is less massive,
more diffuse, but still part of our daily lives. And the recent scandal surrounding
the surveillance of journalists in the United States shows how difficult
"the right balance" is to maintain. Obama didn't have all the
answers, but he did have the merit of making the right commitments.
