Obama Sets a New Standard as a War Mongerer

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Liberal in domestic issues, Obama a hawk on war

President Barack Obama has proved to be a hawk when it comes to fighting terrorism.

From deadly drones and secret interrogations to withholding evidence in terrorism lawsuits, the Democrat has followed the path of his predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush. The U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, remains open despite Obama's pledge to close it, and his administration has pursued leaks of classified information to reporters even more aggressively than did Bush's.

Obama's hawkish counterterrorism bona fides are undeniable.

The administration also has fought for, and won, the right to withhold evidence in terrorism lawsuits that it says could threaten U.S. security. The use of the so-called state secrets privilege gives the president limitless power to keep information from becoming public and hampers court oversight in cases that could be embarrassing to the government.

Critics say Obama's use of the state secrets privilege represents a surprising reversal by the constitutional lawyer-turned-president and threatens American civil liberties. Last month, a federal judge in New York chided the administration for refusing to turn over documents in a case relating to al-Alwaki's killing but said she had no authority to order them disclosed.

More than any other president in U.S. history, Obama has invoked the Espionage Act to prosecute government officials accused of leaking classified information to reporters. His administration has used the law six times in leak investigations since 2009 — compared with three since it was enacted in 1917.

"There has been a disturbing amount of continuity between this administration and the former one," said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center Justice's Liberty and National Security Program. The center is a civil liberties program at the New York University law school.

"There's been way more continuity than I think anyone expected, and certainly than candidate Obama had led anyone to expect," Goitein said. "I just think he put his tail between his legs — the national security establishment has become so huge and powerful that he's probably gotten somewhat co-opted despite himself and despite his better judgments and inclinations."

She noted that some of the most powerful players in Obama's national security circle were holdovers from Bush's administration, including Robert Gates, who served as defense secretary, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller and Brennan, who was a top CIA official until he retired in 2005.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20130209/US.Obama.War.Posture/

Will Obama has to give back his Nobel Peace Prize now?

[decocker 7,198]

Will Obama has to give back his Nobel Peace Prize now?

i know i'll be buying this book, soon as i get my obama check in the mail. first of the month.

the terror factory