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Two days after being sworn into office, President Barak Obama issued an Executive Order that declared his intention to close the detention camps at Guantanamo Bay. In fact, his goal is to close the facility within a year, by January 22nd, 2010. However, the process of shutting down the controversial detention center is fraught with challenges.
Why close Gitmo? The practices of torture and abuse at the facility have cast doubt on the credibility and legitimacy of the United States. Prisoners at Gitmo are held indefinitely, without trial, at the discretion of the Executive Office. Guantanamo Bay is a secure detention facility far from the front lines of battle that the U.S. can secure easily and control. The purpose of Gitmo is to detain terrorist suspects beyond the reach of U.S. law and restricting the ability of inmates to challenge their detention. Because the Gitmo Naval Base is technically outside U.S. territory, there are few legal and judicial constraints.
Critics of closing Gitmo Former Vice President Cheney claims that Gitmo is a "necessary facility" that would put Americans in danger if it was to be shut down. Senator Mitch McConnell(R) insists that shutting down Guantanamo is a bad idea that would release terrorists into the United States. Others state that since the "War on Terror" is ongoing, the detainees can be held as "enemy combatants" until the hostilities end - which may be indefinitely. The Pentagon warned about releasing inmates too soon - 61 former Gitmo detainees returned to fighting against the U.S.
Funding Congress has not approved Obama's request for $80 million to close down Gitmo, demanding a plan before considering a budget proposal. Obama was denied funding because he has "no clear plan" to wind down operations and relocate detainees.
Legal Rights of Detainees The legal rights of detainees are largely undefined. Labeled as unlawful "enemy combatants" by Obama's predecessor, the Bush Administration claimed that the detainees were not protected by international prisoner treatment standards. In 2006, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court ruled that the detainees had the right to minimum treatment standards, as detailed in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.
Fate of Detainees Over the past seven years, 779 detainees from over 30 countries have passed through Guantanamo. A majority of the inmates were sent back to their home countries without facing trial. As of May 2009, there are currently 241 prisoners who remain. Only 80 prisoners are expected to be prosecuted. Other groups of detainees include inmates who are believed to be too dangerous to be released but lack enough evidence for a trial and those whom the military has cleared for release but cannot return to their home countries that have poor human rights records.
Process of Prosecution
Purpose and Policy What legal basis will the United States continue to capture, hold, and interrogate suspects of terrorism? What will the rules and procedures to detain "dangerous" individuals be in the future? How will these policies affect other detention centers? There are roughly 600 prisoners held at the U.S. Air Base in Bagram, Afghanistan.
The first wave of inmates arrived at Gitmo in January 2002 under the auspices of former President Bush's "War on Terror" - a group of 20 men detained in Afghanistan on suspicion of their collaboration with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
* Bruno, Greg. "Closing Guantanamo" Council on Foreign Relations. 12 Feb 2009.
* Pfiefer, William. "The Evolution of Guantanamo Bay" The Politicus 2 Feb 2009.
* Lister, Richard. "What Next For Guantanamo Inmates?" BBC News. 23 Jan 2009.
Why close Gitmo? The practices of torture and abuse at the facility have cast doubt on the credibility and legitimacy of the United States. Prisoners at Gitmo are held indefinitely, without trial, at the discretion of the Executive Office. Guantanamo Bay is a secure detention facility far from the front lines of battle that the U.S. can secure easily and control. The purpose of Gitmo is to detain terrorist suspects beyond the reach of U.S. law and restricting the ability of inmates to challenge their detention. Because the Gitmo Naval Base is technically outside U.S. territory, there are few legal and judicial constraints.
Critics of closing Gitmo Former Vice President Cheney claims that Gitmo is a "necessary facility" that would put Americans in danger if it was to be shut down. Senator Mitch McConnell(R) insists that shutting down Guantanamo is a bad idea that would release terrorists into the United States. Others state that since the "War on Terror" is ongoing, the detainees can be held as "enemy combatants" until the hostilities end - which may be indefinitely. The Pentagon warned about releasing inmates too soon - 61 former Gitmo detainees returned to fighting against the U.S.
Funding Congress has not approved Obama's request for $80 million to close down Gitmo, demanding a plan before considering a budget proposal. Obama was denied funding because he has "no clear plan" to wind down operations and relocate detainees.
Legal Rights of Detainees The legal rights of detainees are largely undefined. Labeled as unlawful "enemy combatants" by Obama's predecessor, the Bush Administration claimed that the detainees were not protected by international prisoner treatment standards. In 2006, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court ruled that the detainees had the right to minimum treatment standards, as detailed in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.
Fate of Detainees Over the past seven years, 779 detainees from over 30 countries have passed through Guantanamo. A majority of the inmates were sent back to their home countries without facing trial. As of May 2009, there are currently 241 prisoners who remain. Only 80 prisoners are expected to be prosecuted. Other groups of detainees include inmates who are believed to be too dangerous to be released but lack enough evidence for a trial and those whom the military has cleared for release but cannot return to their home countries that have poor human rights records.
Process of Prosecution
Purpose and Policy What legal basis will the United States continue to capture, hold, and interrogate suspects of terrorism? What will the rules and procedures to detain "dangerous" individuals be in the future? How will these policies affect other detention centers? There are roughly 600 prisoners held at the U.S. Air Base in Bagram, Afghanistan.
The first wave of inmates arrived at Gitmo in January 2002 under the auspices of former President Bush's "War on Terror" - a group of 20 men detained in Afghanistan on suspicion of their collaboration with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
* Bruno, Greg. "Closing Guantanamo" Council on Foreign Relations. 12 Feb 2009.
* Pfiefer, William. "The Evolution of Guantanamo Bay" The Politicus 2 Feb 2009.
* Lister, Richard. "What Next For Guantanamo Inmates?" BBC News. 23 Jan 2009.