I am not in the least bit surprised by this news. I stated on another board back in 2008 that Obama would not be able to follow through on his election pledge to close Guantanamo Bay and was shot down by Obama supporters who bought into the media hype and spin around his hope and change platform and accused me of "dissing" Obama.  smiley: laugh  The American 2008 election campaign was reminiscent of Britain in 1997 and even though I was only a kid then, I witnessed the same media frenzy that surrounded Tony Blair who also campaigned on the promise to make big changes to how Britain would be governed. There certainly were parallels between how these two men came to power, although I'd argue that our former PM Blair, for all his errors, is the better Statesman of the two. Anyways, I digress.  Getting back to Obama, he hasn't veered too far from Bush in regard to GB, Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm sure he discovered quickly upon entering office that like all those others who came before him, it's much easier to promise the earth whilst in Opposition. Once you make that transition to leader though, the reality sets in and those promised changes aren't as easy to enact. I will give him credit on how he has handled Iraq and Afghanistan, which has made him unpopular with his supporters who wanted a complete breakaway from the Bush strategy.

I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it. - Margaret Thatcher