As noted by Norman Geras in his series of posts on the FKATWOT, Reason TV report on the continuing War on Terror.
[W]ere Obama’s executive orders banning torture and closing down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, signed on his first two days in office, just a head fake? Were they designed to placate a certain segment of his base, while actually continuing—or even expanding—many of Bush administration terrorism policies?
A head fake? I don’t think so, but it is clear that Obama is not the soft touch the right thought he would be, and the left wanted him to be.