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| Obama diary: The first 100 days | Obama diary: The first 100 days |
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| Barack Obama was elected on a message of change. Now he is in office, change is expected both in foreign and domestic policy. Here the BBC's team in Washington tracks developments in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. | Barack Obama was elected on a message of change. Now he is in office, change is expected both in foreign and domestic policy. Here the BBC's team in Washington tracks developments in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. |
| TUESDAY 21 APRIL - DAY 92 | |
| 1419 EDT Change of heart on 'torture' prosecutions? | |
| James Coomarasamy: Before now, the message from the White House had been clear - it had no intention of pressing charges against Bush Adminsitration officials involved in the controversial interrogation of terrorist suspects. This was the time to look forward, the President had said, not backwards. | |
| But - with pressure growing from his own party not to rule out potential prosecutions - Mr Obama has had a change of tone. Asked whether he would give officials the same assurances of immunity he's given to CIA agents who carried out the now-banned forms of interrogation, the President made a distinction: | |
| "With respect to those who formulated the legal decisions," he said, "that is going to be more of a decision for the Attorney General". | |
| Mr Obama's remarks come a day after the former US Vice President Dick Cheney publicly defended the interrogation methods and reflect the increasingly complex political situation surrounding the decision by the White House last week to publish the four Justice Department memos outlining the methods. | |
| MONDAY 20 APRIL - DAY 91 | MONDAY 20 APRIL - DAY 91 |
| 1811 EDT Navigating engagement with Iran | 1811 EDT Navigating engagement with Iran |
| Kim Ghattas: href="/1/hi/world/europe/8008572.stm">President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN anti-racism conference in Geneva adds another layer to America's complex attempts to engage Tehran. | |
| Ahmadinejad is walking a fine line ahead of the Iranian elections in June. He needs to appeal to an electorate that may be open to the idea of a detente with "the Great Satan", in a country that (despite the image it has abroad) has the least anti-American population in the region. | Ahmadinejad is walking a fine line ahead of the Iranian elections in June. He needs to appeal to an electorate that may be open to the idea of a detente with "the Great Satan", in a country that (despite the image it has abroad) has the least anti-American population in the region. |
| But he also needs to keep the clerics on his side by maintaining his tough anti-Western rethoric. He scored high with the UN speech. | But he also needs to keep the clerics on his side by maintaining his tough anti-Western rethoric. He scored high with the UN speech. |
| href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/8007822.stm">The case of journalist Roxana Saberi exemplifies that balancing act. The hard-liners in Iran have demonstrated their unwillingness to engage with Washington, but Ahmadinejad has cleverly intervened to ask that Saberi be allowed a full defence during her appeal. All the while, href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123992372145727175.html">this is unfolding at the UN. | |
| The US is not easing the pressure of sanctions for now. In fact, rather interestingly, the man in charge of tightening the screws on Tehran during the Bush years, Stuart Levey, is still in his job at the Treasury department. | The US is not easing the pressure of sanctions for now. In fact, rather interestingly, the man in charge of tightening the screws on Tehran during the Bush years, Stuart Levey, is still in his job at the Treasury department. |
| 1751 EDT Reassuring the CIA | 1751 EDT Reassuring the CIA |
| James Coomarasamy: On his first visit to CIA headquarters, President Obama told employees that he understands the difficulty they've had over the release of the so-called torture memos. | |
| But he defended his decision to publish them and offered reassurance that there'd be no legal consequences for the officers who'd acted on their advice. | But he defended his decision to publish them and offered reassurance that there'd be no legal consequences for the officers who'd acted on their advice. |
| Saying his administration had had no alternative but to release the memos, he went on to praise the agency's unsung patriotism. | Saying his administration had had no alternative but to release the memos, he went on to praise the agency's unsung patriotism. |
| He said he understood it was hard to operate against unscrupulous enemies and that the agents must feel as though they were acting with one hand tied behind their backs. But, he said, it was important for US security that they carried out their work to the highest moral standards: | He said he understood it was hard to operate against unscrupulous enemies and that the agents must feel as though they were acting with one hand tied behind their backs. But, he said, it was important for US security that they carried out their work to the highest moral standards: |
| Even if the president's words do help answer the concerns of CIA agents, they're unlikely to silence those who've criticised his decision to release the memos. | Even if the president's words do help answer the concerns of CIA agents, they're unlikely to silence those who've criticised his decision to release the memos. |
| His critics on the right say his action will make the country less secure, while those on the left want him to pursue charges against those who may have tortured prisoners in America's name. | His critics on the right say his action will make the country less secure, while those on the left want him to pursue charges against those who may have tortured prisoners in America's name. |
| 1608 EDT First Cabinet meeting | 1608 EDT First Cabinet meeting |
| Max Deveson: It's only taken 91 days, but President Obama has finally gathered his full cabinet together for a meeting. | |
| Of course, his cabinet appointments required congressional approval before they could take up their positions, so it is not really surprising that it has taken so long for the cabinet to meet. Moreover, unlike in countries like the UK, where the Cabinet meets every week, the Cabinet in the US meets less frequently - policy is generally decided at the White House, and Cabinet Secretaries are charged with implementing it. | Of course, his cabinet appointments required congressional approval before they could take up their positions, so it is not really surprising that it has taken so long for the cabinet to meet. Moreover, unlike in countries like the UK, where the Cabinet meets every week, the Cabinet in the US meets less frequently - policy is generally decided at the White House, and Cabinet Secretaries are charged with implementing it. |
| At the meeting, Mr Obama ordered his Cabinet to find cost saving in their departments, in order to cut $100m form the budget. | At the meeting, Mr Obama ordered his Cabinet to find cost saving in their departments, in order to cut $100m form the budget. |
| He acknowledged that $100m was a "drop in the budget", but that the government needed to win back the confidence of the American people by showing that money was not being wasted. | He acknowledged that $100m was a "drop in the budget", but that the government needed to win back the confidence of the American people by showing that money was not being wasted. |
| "We've got to earn their trust," he said. | "We've got to earn their trust," he said. |
| 1530 EDT Round the table | 1530 EDT Round the table |
| Barack Obama used his first cabinet meeting to challenge his Cabinet Secretaries to search for cost-savings in their departments | Barack Obama used his first cabinet meeting to challenge his Cabinet Secretaries to search for cost-savings in their departments |
| href="/1/hi/world/americas/7834460.stm">Obama diary: Days 1-10 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7861299.stm">Obama diary: Days 11-20 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7879737.stm">Obama diary: Days 21-30 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7898977.stm">Obama diary: Days 31-40 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7919837.stm">Obama diary: Days 41-50 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7938625.stm">Obama diary: Days 51-60 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7959878.stm">Obama diary: Days 61-70 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7975405.stm">Obama diary: Days 71-80 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7994368.stm">Obama diary: Days 81-90 href="/1/hi/world/americas/7843732.stm">Obama diary: Contributors |