By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--December 10, 2014
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“While on Oahu, he typically spends a lot of time working out at the gym at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, golfing with classmates from Punahou School and eating out at local restaurants such as Alan Wong's Restaurant in Honolulu and Buzz's Original Steak House in Kailua. “White House officials declined to comment on the president's schedule.” “On Nov. 7, PBN reported that a Chinese businessman had paid $9.5 million for a home that Obama once used as a vacation home in 2008, just before he was elected president. “Obama was most recently in Hawaii on Sunday morning, but not for long. Air Force One made a quick refueling stop at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam while returning to Washington from the Group of 20 summit in Australia.”
“Today’s report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence details one element of our nation’s response to 9/11—the CIA’s detention and interrogation program, which I formally ended on one of my first days in office. The report documents a troubling program involving enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects in secret facilities outside the United States, and it reinforces my long-held view that these harsh methods were not only inconsistent with our values as nation, they did not serve our broader counterterrorism efforts or our national security interests. Moreover, these techniques did significant damage to America’s standing in the world and made it harder to pursue our interests with allies and partners. That is why I will continue to use my authority as President to make sure we never resort to those methods again. “As Commander in Chief, I have no greater responsibility than the safety and security of the American people. We will therefore continue to be relentless in our fight against al Qaeda, its affiliates and other violent extremists. We will rely on all elements of our national power, including the power and example of our founding ideals. That is why I have consistently supported the declassification of today’s report. No nation is perfect. But one of the strengths that makes America exceptional is our willingness to openly confront our past, face our imperfections, make changes and do better. Rather than another reason to refight old arguments, I hope that today’s report can help us leave these techniques where they belong—in the past. Today is also a reminder that upholding the values we profess doesn’t make us weaker, it makes us stronger and that the United States of America will remain the greatest force for freedom and human dignity that the world has ever known.”The loved ones of soldier protectors of freedom doomed by the release of America’s response to 9/11 via the CIA’s detention and interrogation program, should brace themselves for what is certain to be, coming grief and sorrow. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas, America, from the all-year-round, no-goodwill, most anti-American president in all of history.
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