Quote:

President Barack Obama has made a dramatic departure from the Bush era by announcing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison, a ban on harsh interrogation techniques and the end of CIA prisons.

Mr Obama said America would now be "willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard".
He said: "We think that it is precisely our ideals that give us the strength and the moral high ground to be able to effectively deal with the unthinking violence that we see emanating from terrorist organisations around the world.

But he added that he didn't want to have to make a "false choice" between successfully waging war against terrorist organisations and abiding by human rights considerations. "We intend to win this fight. We're going to win it on our terms."

Robert Gibbs, the new White House press secretary, said in his first briefing that the three executive orders and a presidential directive would "enhance the security of the American people" and protect American troops as well as living up to American values.
Mr Obama directed that the controversial Guantanamo Bay facility, opened in 2002 by President George W. Bush, will close within a year. Mr Gibbs said that the fate of the 250 or so prisoners remaining at Guantanamo would be "studied as part of a commission to look into these very complex, very detailed subjects".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4...