Obama to close terrorist ''black sites''

Obama to close terrorist ''black sites''Washington, Jan. 22 : President Barack Obama on Thursday will order the closure of so-called black sites, where CIA and European security services have interrogated terrorist suspects.

Executive orders dismantling much of the Bush administration''s architecture for the war on terror, says Obama will shutter "all permanent detention facilities overseas."

According to the four individuals involved with the process, the orders have not yet been signed.

There are at least eight such prisons, according to published reports. The Bush administration never revealed the number or location of the facilities, although several were said to be in Eastern Europe.

The individuals said there will be three executive orders.

One will order the black sites closed and require all interrogations of detainees across the entire U. S. intelligence community to adhere to the U. S. Army Field Manual. The manual specifies a range of interrogation techniques that are not considered torture.

Another executive order will close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within 12 months, in accordance with an Obama campaign pledge.

The final order deals with overall detention policy.

The orders discuss the status of the estimated 250 detainees at Guantanamo and what to do with them and calls for a series of reviews on the status of the prisoners and the military commissions set up to try them.

The review will look at transferring prisoners to military facilities in the United States.

Obama, in one of his first acts as president, on Wednesday suspended all the military commissions for 120 days.

During his campaign and after his election, he promised that his administration would not practice torture.

In his Inaugural address Tuesday, he said, "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals . Those ideals still light the world and we will not give them up for expedience''s sake." (ANI)

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