Barack Obama himself gave a pretty clear indication in an interview with ABC a few days ago about just where he stands on the issue:
"Vice President Cheney I think continues to defend what he calls extraordinary measures or procedures and from my view waterboarding is torture. I have said that under my administration we will not torture." |
Amen to that. I've felt constrained to write a fair bit about torture in the past few years, unfortunate but necessary.
It will be good to have a US back that doesn't make me want to upchuck. I hope I can still write this in four years.
I suspect that a couple of years down the line there will be a lot of disapointment with Obama's presidency, since the realities of office probably won't live up to the expectations.
ReplyDeleteFor example, he's recently acknowledged that closing Guantanamo won't be an easy process, and likewise I think those expecting him to wave a magic wand in the Middle East will be brought back down to earth with a bump.
On the other hand, I suppose the mere fact that he's not George Bush will work in his favour and to that extent assuage any concerns, initially at least.
Interesting times though!