Washington — With near lightning speed, President Obama has altered the course of U.S. foreign policy less than 48 hours after taking office by making clear that the country’s goals and objectives will be consistent with American values and the rule of law.

Saying “we have no time to lose,” Obama summed up in a clipped response how urgent he believes it is to reinvigorate American diplomacy and to chart a new course in foreign relations.

After signing executive orders and issuing new directions to the intelligence community, Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden appeared at the State Department January 22 with newly confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to announce the appointment of special envoys. (See "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Calls for Robust Diplomacy.")

In two days, the new administration has set a pace for taking action not seen in previous administrations. Working from the White House and State Department headquarters several city blocks apart, Obama announced the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention center in Cuba, abolishment of harsh interrogation methods by intelligence officers, halting of military tribunals for suspected terrorists at Guantánamo for at least 120 days, ending of secret prisons maintained by the intelligence community abroad, and the appointment of two special diplomatic envoys to deal with Arab-Israeli peace and Afghanistan and Pakistan.

And in so doing, Obama set a precise standard for U.S. behavior in its relations with others.

“I think the American people understand that we are not, as I said in the inauguration, going to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals. 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 organizations around the world,” he said moments after announcing the closure of the Guantánamo detention center.

The president said that by his actions he is restoring the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that define the United States “even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism.”

GUANTÁNAMO AND DETAINEES

The changes began with the treatment and detention of detainees at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Using a process known as executive orders, the president on January 22 ordered the Guantánamo facility closed within a year, a process that he acknowledged will be difficult. He also put together a panel of senior government officials to determine within 30 days whether the remaining 245 detainees at Guantánamo would be released, transferred to other countries, or tried in U.S. courts. (See "Obama Orders Guantánamo Shut Down.")

The problem, the president said, is that some of the detainees cannot be tried because of various problems related to evidence under federal laws. Evidence collection under U.S. laws must be carried out under exacting standards before a federal judge will even consider allowing it to be used at a criminal trial.

At the same time, the president signed an executive order that abolishes any secret prisons that have been used by the U.S. intelligence community abroad for dealing with terrorists. He also ordered that any interrogations carried out will be under the terms of a U.S. Army field manual on interrogations, which is consistent with U.S. treaties and the humane treatment of prisoners under international laws and obligations. (See "White House Executive Order on Ensuring Lawful Interrogations.")

The 2006 Army manual the president cited in his executive order — Field Manual 2-22.3, “Human Intelligence Collector Operations” — complies with the Geneva Conventions and all of its protocols, and explicitly prohibits torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, and is also in compliance with the U.S. Detainee Treatment Act of 2005.

The field manual outlines 19 legal interrogation techniques and forbids nine others.

“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.

“This is me following through on not just a commitment I made during the [presidential] campaign, but I think an understanding that dates back to our Founding Fathers, that we are willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it’s easy, but also when it’s hard.”

Retired Navy Admiral Dennis Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee on January 22 that the Army manual will be reviewed for any necessary changes to comply with the president’s orders, and it will be called “the manual for government interrogations.” Blair was testifying at his confirmation hearing to become director of national intelligence.

“I do not and I will not support any surveillance activities that circumvent established processes or their lawful authorization,” he testified. “Torture is not moral, not legal, not effective. The U.S. government will have a clear and consistent standard for the treatment of detainees.”

TRIBUNALS HALTED

And at the president’s request January 20, trial proceedings of detainees at Guantánamo have been suspended.

Pentagon deputy spokesman Bryan Whitman said the president directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to suspend military commission legal proceedings for 120 days. The president has indicated that his new administration needs time to evaluate the military commissions system established to try detainees accused of war crimes and terrorist acts.

TWO ENVOYS

Secretary Clinton announced at the State Department on January 22 that former U.S. Senator George Mitchell would be joining the administration as a special envoy for Middle East peace and would be focusing on Arab-Israeli issues. Mitchell led efforts under the Clinton administration to push peace in Northern Ireland, and led an international commission that investigated violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Clinton also announced that former U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who negotiated the Dayton Accords to end the 1992–1995 Balkan Wars, would return to serve as special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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