Obama Acts: Guantanamo to Close

OK, now I'll join the optimists who expect an Obama Administration commitment --- despite the last, desperate interference of Vice President Dick Cheney --- to shut down Camp X-Ray soon after the Inauguration in January 2009:

The Defense Department is drawing up plans to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison in anticipation that one of President-elect Barack Obama's first acts will be ordering the closure of the detention center associated with the abuse of terror suspects.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates still technically works for George W. Bush, so the confirmation from the Pentagon indicates that the current Administration is standing aside. More importantly  the Department of Defense, which helped launch this illegal and counter-productive regime, is now prepared to shut it down.

The downside of this process is that it will still take months to find and implement an arrangement for the 250 detainees still at the prison. It is unclear how many will be kept under lock-and-key in the American system and if those released can return to their home countries, have to be accommodated in the United States, or will be accepted by a third country such as Portugal.

Iraqi Shoe-Gate: al-Maliki Lets Muntazar al-Zaidi Dangle

Public Relations Act of the Day: the release of a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, purportedly from Muntazar al-Zaidi asking for a pardon for his "big and ugly act". Al-Maliki's spokesman was far from subtle in his presentation of the letter, which has not actually been seen by anyone: it seems that Yaseen Majid spoke "exclusively" to almost every major American and British news outlet.



Doing this, the al-Maliki Government has given itself flexibility in its handling of al-Zaidi. It can now claim kindness and compassion by approving a lenient sentence for assault by deadly shoes. On the other hand, as Majid make clear al-Maliki was "leaning toward allowing the Iraqi judicial system to determine [al-Zaidi's] fate", the Government can also watch as the journalist gets a long term in prison.

And there's a bonus. With its dramatic release of the "letter", the Government could get rid of those troubling allegations that al-Zaidi, who has still not been seen by family, friends, or lawyers, was beaten by Iraqi security forces. I could not find any mention this morning of al-Zaidi's isolation and possible injuries.

Alaska Update: Sarah Palin, the Wasilla Bible Church, Gay Rights, and a Fire

This just in from our Alaska Bureau, reporting from Wasilla:

The investigation into the fire that nearly destroyed the Wasilla Bible Church, the religious home of former Vice-Presidential candidate and evangelical-right favorite Sarah Palin, widened this week when the Central Mat-Su Fire Department and the Alaska State Fire Marshals Office requested assistance from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The onsite investigation revealed that an accelerant had been used in multiple locations to spread the fire. No injuries were reported, though the structure sustained more than $1 million of damage.



In September the church held a Focus on the Family's ‘Love Won Out’ conference, the aim of which is to "to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality". Because of this, some on the right are labelling the fire a "hate crime" and an "arson and attempted murder...perpetrated by advocates of homosexual marriage". These allegations were repeated by Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren in an interview with Palin, who then apologized to the congregation if her candidacy brought "undeserved negative attention’ to the church".

The charges come at an especially delicate moment for President-elect Obama, who faces criticism from gay rights advocates because he picked Rick Warren to give the inauguration invocation. Warren is the superchurch pastor who  put forward California's Proposition 8, which restricted the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman.

It remains to be seen whether or not Wasilla will become a hotbed of political activism or the Ground Zero of a yet unidentified gay anarchist collective, but we will keep you posted.

Breaking News: Letter from Muntazar al-Zaidi Asks for Leniency

See updates --- "Al-Maliki Lets Al-Zaidi Dangle" and "Iraqi Judge Says Muntazar Al-Zaidi Beaten"

CNN reports that Muntazar al-Zaidi has written to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to ask leniency for "the great ugly act I perpetrated" in throwing his shoes at President George Bush. According to the press spokesman for al-Maliki, al-Zaidi asked for the Prime Minister's "fatherly compassion".

According to al-Zaidi's brother, the case will come to trial next week.

*TRAGIC COMIC FOOTNOTE: Living up to its journalistic high standards, Fox News headlines the story, "Shoe-Tosser's Sole-Ful Apology".

Breaking News: Hamas-Israel Cease-Fire To End

According to Al Jazeera, a Hamas official has said --- one day before the truce between Hamas and Israel is to expire --- that "the calm is over".

Ayman Taba said after talks between Palestinian groups in Gaza that the cease-fire would not be renewed "because the enemy did not abide by its obligations" to ease the economic blockade and halt military operations.

The Israeli Government has not yet responded to the announcement.