By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

May 21, 2009 – President Obama laid out the reasoning and approach he deems necessary to close Guantanamo Bay prison while safeguarding America against terrorist threats and adhering to the fundamental values of our country. 

President Barack Obama addresses national security, terrorism, and closing of Guantanamo Bay prison.

“For the first time since 2002, we are providing the necessary resources and strategic direction to take the fight to the extremists who attacked us on 9/11 in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Obama said. 

During his speech at the National Archives Museum, the president said, “I believe with every fiber of my being that in the long run we also cannot keep this country safe unless we enlist the power of our most fundamental values;” values he said the Bush administration overlooked. 

Since taking office, the president pointed to three steps he has already taken: banning so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, ordering the closing of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and ordering the review of all pending cases at Guantanamo.

Obama said, “I want to be honest: this is the toughest issue we will face. We are going to exhaust every avenue that we have to prosecute those at Guantanamo who pose a danger to our country. But even when this process is complete, there may be a number of people who cannot be prosecuted for past crimes, but who nonetheless pose a threat to the security of the United States.” 

He continued, “I am not going to release individuals who endanger the American people. Al Qaeda terrorists and their affiliates are at war with the United States, and those that we capture – like other prisoners of war – must be prevented from attacking us again.”

The president said, he wanted “clear defensible and lawful standards” to any suspected enemy insuring “fair procedures so that we don’t make mistakes.” Mistakes he identified as being made the last eight years.  

With the Constitution in the foreground, Obama’s speech reflected frequently on the document’s core values of the intent of our founders in his remarks.  “The decisions that were made over the last eight years established an ad hoc legal approach for fighting terrorism that was neither effective nor sustainable — a framework that failed to trust in our institutions and that failed to use our values as a compass, “ he said. 

 ”That is why we lost our way. That is why we were alienated from our allies.”

The president directed his message to the American people, Congress, our allies and our enemies.  Now we’ll have to see if he got his message across and will be able to move forward with closing Gitmo.

By Rep. Maxine Waters (D- Calif.)

May 19, 2009 – As a founder and leader of the Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus, I opposed the failed Bush policy in Iraq, and I am now increasingly concerned that escalating military involvement in Afghanistan could lead to disastrous consequences.

I believe we must enable the people of Afghanistan to develop a stable and functioning state that cannot be used by al Qaeda terrorists, the Taliban and other extremists to threaten our security or other nations.

The question is how can we best achieve this objective?

President Obama and his key advisors – including military leaders – have acknowledged that nonmilitary initiatives are essential to stabilizing Afghanistan.  However, his most recent spending request for Afghanistan and Iraq dedicates only about ten percent of funds to humanitarian, diplomatic and other civilian efforts.

I am also disappointed that there is no exit strategy or timeline or set of benchmarks to measure progress.

The spending bill presented to the House of Representatives for a vote last week simply continues and amplifies the failed policies that have caused us to be caught up in a continued occupation of Iraq and an increasingly large presence in Afghanistan.

Instead of playing the Taliban shell game, we should devise a smart strategy to win the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan. They will help us to locate Osama bin Laden.

Airstrikes that kill innocent civilians will only harden the civilians against us.

The Taliban is leading us into Pakistan, where we are on the verge of establishing a new footprint.  Previously, U.S. policy gave the former Pakistani President Musharraf billions of dollars while he was playing footsie with the Taliban and allowing it to control the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now President Zardari has proven to be weak and ineffective, yet he is being rewarded with more of our tax dollars.

Next week, we will observe Memorial Day and remember the sacrifice of those who have given their lives while serving our nation, including almost 5000 Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As we honor them, I will also be thinking of the brave men and women now in uniform, and I will continue my efforts to bring them home safely to their loved ones.

I believe we must place our troops in harm’s way only as a last resort and only with a sound plan.

Tens of thousands of American troops are serving courageously and honorably in Afghanistan, but they have been executing a flawed strategy, and Afghanistan remains mired in violence with a weak and corrupt central government.  I am worried that sending another 21,000 troops there will not succeed, and instead I advocate strengthening our diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives.

Do you think we should continue to send more troops to Afghanistan?