Bush and Obama: A Counterterrorism Comparison

by Emily Witt

As president-elect in late 2008, Barack Obama promised to “regain America’s moral stature in the world” by ending some of the Bush administration’s most controversial counterterrorism policies.

So with President Obama nearly two-thirds through his first year in office, what exactly has changed? Abusive interrogations have been banned, but renditions to other countries will continue. The prison at Guantanamo Bay has been ordered closed, but that hasn’t proven easy to do. Meanwhile, prisoners at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan — even those detained in other countries -- can still be held without charge. Memos on CIA interrogation practices have been released, but the details of some programs are still smothered in the name of national security.

In sum, there are clear differences between Bush and Obama, but some policies have stayed the same. (Our earlier comparison involving national-security lawsuits likewise found similar positions.) Here’s our rundown of the differences and the similarities.

Due to a production error, the introduction to this chart was published with copy from a previous comparison involving national security issues and has since been updated with the correct copy. ....