On January Twenty-Second, President Obama signed orders to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, shut down secret overseas CIA prisons, review military war crimes trials and ban harsh interrogation methods with hopes of changing the worlds view on America.
Obama said "The message that we are sending the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly and we are going to do so effectively and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals,"
Already suspending trials for 120 days while a review of military trials continue, the end game plan is to have the prison shut down within a year fulfilling one of his key campaign promises.
On the same day, the President signed official orders that created a task force to recommend policies on handling future terror suspects. One of the main jobs of said task force would to be to look into possible housing facilities for prisoners after the closing of the prison.
The orders also require all American personnel to follow the U.S. Army Field Manual during interrogation. The manual specifically states that verbal threats, coercion, physical punishment and waterboarding are not allowed.
"We believe that the Army Field Manual reflects the best judgment of our military, that we can abide by a rule that says we don't torture, but that we can still effectively obtain the intelligence that we need," Obama said. He continued "We are willing to observe core standards of conduct, not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard."
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