WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama issued four executive orders Thursday to demonstrate a clean break from the Bush administration on the war on terror, including one requiring that the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed within a year.

A second executive order formally bans torture by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terror interrogations. The order essentially ends the Bush administration's CIA program of enhanced interrogation methods.

A third executive order establishes an interagency task force to lead a systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases.

A fourth executive order delays the trial of Ali al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident who has been contesting his detention for more than five years as an enemy combatant in a military brig without the government bringing any charges against him.

The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay became a lightning rod for critics who charged that the Bush administration had used torture on terror detainees. President George W. Bush and other senior officials repeatedly denied that the U.S. government had used torture to extract intelligence from terror suspects.

Obama's move will set off a fierce legal struggle over where the prison's detainees will go next.

Officials said new White House Counsel Greg Craig briefed congressional Republicans Wednesday afternoon about the three upcoming executive orders

"The key question is where do you put these terrorists," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield?"

Rep. Bill Young of Florida, the top Republican on the Defense Appropriations Committee, said Wednesday the executive orders "will leave some wiggle room for the administration."

Young said he has "quite a bit of anxiety" about transferring detainees to United States facilities.

"Number one, they're dangerous," he said. "Secondly, once they become present in the United States, what is their legal status? What is their constitutional status? I worry about that, because I don't want them to have the same constitutional rights that you and I have. They're our enemy."

He said he asked Craig what the government plans to do with two recently built facilities at Guantanamo, which he said cost $500 million. He said Craig had no answer, but pledged to discuss the issue further.

Young said he suggested reopening Alcatraz, the closed federal prison on an island outside San Francisco, California -- in Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district.

"Put them in Alcatraz, where supposedly they can't escape from," Young said, but added the suggestion "didn't go over well."

The revelation coincided with a judge's decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings.

"The key question is where do you put these terrorists," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield?"


We move 'em to your mama's house, Mister Boner!  How about that?
:P

We move 'em to your mama's house, Mister Boner!  How about that?
:P


I've been a Clevelander all my life and I never heard of that guy. But I did hear about Sherrod Brown.

"The key question is where do you put these terrorists," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement issued Wednesday. "Do you bring them inside our borders? Do you release them back into the battlefield?"

If they *are* terrorists, then presumably there's some evidence to prove it.  Put them on trial.

If there is no evidence, then I'm afraid they're going to have to be released, ideally going on to sue people like John Boehner for defamation in making the assumption that they are terrorists *because* they're locked up in Guantanamo.

Good news, and he banned torture too.

Good news, and he banned torture too.


No need.  Torture was banned already.  The Bush Administration violated international law and needs to be prosecuted for human rights abuses and war crimes.  But...that's not going to happen, not in the U.S. at least.
:(

At least ONE of the terrorist is now in Texas.



Cat

About time.  During Bush's reign, Guantanamo Bay gave America a really bad rap due to it's torturing policies.

About time.  During Bush's reign, Guantanamo Bay gave America a really bad rap due to it's torturing policies.

It's not just about torture: the people held at Guantanamo couldn't be held on the US mainland because it would be illegal to hold a person for an indefinite time without trial.  The whole deal was about trying to circumvent US law while trying to make it seem like all those at Guantanamo "deserved" to be there.