WEEK IN REVIEW: JAN 21-23

President Barack Hussein Obama's first three days on the job were filled with excitement (at least the first two). Regrettably, Hillary Clinton and Timothy Geithner went through their confirmations with little problems. But it was their boss who was making the big headlines. He ordered the closure of Guantanamo and made headway and a handful of domestic issues. There were also signals of the new adminstration's future dealings abroad, some good some bad.

Wednesday, January 21st was Obama's first full day as President of the United States. As expected, it was rather eventful...

• The first family's morning was consumed by a long National Prayer Service. God bless the USA!
  
• There was a promise of "an unprecedented level of openness in government." The newly elected president announced that all pay raises would be frozen for anyone making above $100,000 a year (nobody was even on the payroll before Tuesday).
• Obama's first action of any consequence was the signing of an ethics act that placed numerous limitations on lobbyists and government officials.
  
• He ordered the suspension of all legal proceedings in Guantanamo and his aides circulated a draft executive order calling for the detention center in Cuba to be shut down.
• He called Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas to express his "commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term."
• The president hosted an open house for some special guests.
• He also held productive meetings with economic advisers and military officials.
• The day ended with him re-taking the presidential oath that the Supreme Court Justice had so unceremoniously screwed up the day before.

Thursday, January 22nd was a day for more promises to be fulfilled (to a certain extent). Once again, members of the press had their hands full. As his cabinet picks continued to make headway in their confirmations, President Obama made two important appointments:

1. George Mitchell was made Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is of Irish-Lebanese descent and his accomplishments include the well received Mitchell Report on the second intifada, and a lasting peace deal in Northern Ireland. It was a relatively good move (much better than a Dennis Ross).
2. Richard Holbrooke was named Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has earned the nickname the bulldozer, and he has a past checkered with red flags. His appointment is not a good sign for any meaningful peace in that region.

• What made the most headlines were the three executive orders the president signed, effectively ending all the previous administration's policies in the so-called war on terror:

1. Regarding Guantanamo Bay - the ultimate goal is the closure of the detention center within a year. The order establishes a review process with the goal of relocating the detainees before closing the facility. It also requires that conditions of confinement at Guantanamo comply with Geneva conventions and other international laws until the prison camp is shut down.
2. Regarding detention policies - a special task force, co-chaired by Eric Holder and Robert Gates will reconsider policy options for apprehension, detention, trial, transfer, and release of detainees. The task force must submit its report to the president within 180 days.
3. Regarding interrogation policies - all interrogations of detainees are required to follow the Army Field Manual guidelines (e.g. no more waterboarding). The CIA is ordered to close all overseas detention facilities and it is prohibited from operating them in the future. A special task force will conduct a review of interrogation policies. It will do the same for extraordinary rendition, although the process will continue for the time being.

• Obama also ordered the Justice Department to review the case of the only 'enemy combatant' currently being held in the US.
  

Friday, January 23rd was far less eventful. Not much came out of the White House -I guess they were winding down for the weekend...

• The executive and legislative branches came together to work on an (expensive) remedy to the current financial crisis.
• The president returned phonecalls from Canadian PM Stephen Harper, Saudi King Abdullah (who he asked to combat arms smuggling to Gaza), British PM Gordon Brown and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
• To the dismay of pro-life nutbags protesting the day before, Obama lifted a ban on US funding for international groups that perform abortions or provide related services.
• The big news of the day came from Pakistan where two US drones killed at least 20 people, at least half of them civilians. Clearly Obama was unfazed by the flack he took for promising to strike freely in Pakistan during the campaign. At least he's showing he has some foreign policy convictions, even if they're dangerously flawed.
  

But overall, it was a good week - our new president delivered - at least on the surface. Yes, Guantanamo will soon be a thing of the past, but detainees there are still being force fed and mistreated (the press left on January 21). CIA prisons are supposed to be shut down, but what will be the fate of those already in detention? The Mitchell pick was not bad, but Obama continues to walk the same line with Israel. What are the chances he will let Mitchell do his 'dirty' work for him? Holbrooke will definitely do his dirty work. Friday's attack on Pakistan could be a sign of bad things to come.

What we've seen in these first few days has been good, but there is a long way to go. Actions speak louder than words, and the world will be watching to see what Barack actually does. So far so good (except for Pakistan, and the persistent misportrayal of the Arab-Israeli conflict). If he can keep up the pace, I will be pleasantly surprised... I'm not expecting that.