American Civil Liberties Union

As President Obama travels overseas, it is a good time to remember the United States’ potential to lead by example. Today, the ACLU ran an ad in the daily Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, asking President Obama to restore American values of justice.

As President Obama travels overseas, the ACLU reminds him that in order to restore America's name around the world, we must end indefinite detention and close Guantánamo. This ad appears in the July 10, 2009, edition of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera:

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Last week, our friend – journalist Andy Worthington – reminded readers of a forgotten anniversary: the second anniversary of a death at Guantánamo – apparently by suicide.

This week, the world learned of yet another death at Guantánamo – another apparent suicide of 31-year old Yemeni national Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih – who has been detained since February, 2002. Salih's death bumps up the total death count at Gitmo to six. Of these deaths, five are believed to be suicide.

We, along with other Americans concerned with the direction of President Obama's approach to national security, watched with bated breath as he gave his much-anticipated speech this morning addressing national security issues including the closure of Guantánamo and the revival of the military commissions. Yesterday, human rights groups including the ACLU met with the president and members of his cabinet and expressed concerns about the president's reported plans for indefinite detention for some terrorism suspects. While today's speech was refreshing in its efforts to acknowledge the importance of the Constitution and the rule of law, we remain concerned about those issues.