Huffington Magazine Issue 38 | Page 49

HELD AT BAY HUFFINGTON 03.03.13 JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES “… WE HAVE COMPROMISED OUR MOST PRECIOUS VALUES.” case in 2008, arguing many of the same motions we’re arguing now,” Ruiz said. “And I think folks that have been around here for a while would tell you not much has changed at all.” During his first campaign for the White House, Obama pledged to end an ugly chapter in American history and prove to the world that the United States could safeguard the country from terrorism without sacrificing its commitment to freedom and liberty. “In the dark halls of Abu Ghraib and the detention cells of Guantanamo, we have compromised our most precious values,” Obama declared in a speech on Aug. 1, 2007. In one of his first acts upon taking office in January 2009, the president, flanked by admirals and generals, directed the military to close the prison camp here within a year. A mobile guard tower stands over a camp for Chinese Uighur detainees.