Obama's Actions on Terrorism

Since taking office, President Obama has changed some Bush Administration policies and kept others. Here is a quick summary:

• Signed an Executive Order to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center in a year (no details on what is to be done with those who are currently in Guantanamo)
  

• Ordered all interrogations to be done following the Army Field Manual (which is similar to procedures followed by police officers)

• Signed an Executive Order keeping the rendition policy, whereby we can send detainees or "enemy combatants" to foreign prisons for interrogation and detention

• Elena Kagan, President Obama's choice to represent his administration before the Supreme Court, told senators that she believed the government could hold suspected terrorists without trial, a view similar to that of Attorney General Eric Holder during his appointment hearings last month.

• The Obama Administration announced that it would keep the same position as the Bush Administration on state secrets privilege in the lawsuit Mohamed et al v Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.

• Leon Panetta, new head of the CIA, left open the possibility that the CIA could use aggressive interrogation methods in "extreme cases" with permission from the President, despite the limited menu of techniques that President Obama authorized under new rules issued last month.