President Obama won’t act against torture: Analyst
An American political commentator says human right groups should not expect real action from US President Barack Obama against torture.
Don DeBar, an anti-war activist and radio host in New York, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV while commenting about a campaign launched by an international non-governmental organization, urging the Obama administration to begin a “full criminal investigation” into torture techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency following the 9/11 attacks.
He also noted that we cannot expect “any actual action” from the US president or the United States government over the human rights issue.
“Although he [Obama] issues his written statement prohibiting torture, people who were imprisoned in Guantanamo when he took office six, seven years ago, and are still there. That is not a picnic site. That is a torture factory,” he said.
Obama had promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison before his election in 2008, citing its damage to the US reputation abroad.
In April 2013, Obama said, “I continue to believe we have to close Guantanamo. I think it is critical for us to understand that Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe.”
Washington says the prisoners are terror suspects, but has not pressed charges against most of them in any court.
There are still 127 inmates at the prison, which was set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
DeBar also argued there are many other so-called black sites.
“The only people that would disclose them would be whistleblowers, and he [Obama] has been the most aggressive prosecutor of whistleblowers in the history of the United States, in terms of applying for example the Sedition Act and other criminal acts to people who whistleblow,” he said.
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