The Closure of The Guantanamo Prison

America’s record for being a nation where there is a fair deal for all and execution of fair justice had suffered a lot because of Guantanamo. Several reports of intense torture as well as frequent violations of human rights, originating from this hated detention centre had appeared in the media many times. Guantanamo was thus a blemish on America’s face, a”stain on the moral fiber of this great nation”. In a country well known for upholding the dignity of human beings irrespective of race, gender or point of origin, this was a record that was best forgotten and removed from its annals in every perspective.

On Thursday, 22 January 2009, just two days after his inaguration, President Obama issued three executive orders to start a perhaps well thought-out intention to have a real change from the policies of the previous administration. One of these orders was to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within one year. He promised to return America to the “moral high ground” in the war on terrorism. The president said he was issuing the order to close the facility in order to “restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism.”

During a signing ceremony at the White House, Obama reaffirmed his inauguration pledge that the United States does not have “to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals.”“This is me following through … on an understanding that dates back to our founding fathers, that we are willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it’s easy but also when it’s hard.”

Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate who contested the elections against Obama, immediately issued a statement, primarily supporting the new President’s decision. In a press statement issued together with South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, he said he supported Obama’s decision to “reaffirm America’s adherence to the Geneva Conventions, and begin a process that will, we hope, lead to the resolution of all cases of Guantanamo detainees.”

However Mc Cain also has stated that the decision may have been rather hasty. The new President should have considered the issue in greater depth and detail. Especially the specific issue of what would happen to the prisoners held there, where they will be sent and how the timeline of one year is proposed to be complied with.

“So, the easy part, in all due respect, is to say we’re going to close Guantanamo,” McCain said. “Then I think I would have said where they were going to be taken. Because you’re going to run into a NIMBY [not in my backyard] problem here in the United States of America.”

A number of other senators and Republican leaders have also warning notes Obama’s decision to close the Guantanamo prison.

“We cannot risk going back to the politically correct national security policies that left us vulnerable in the lead-up to 9/11,” Michigan GOP Rep. Peter Hoekstra, of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a written statement”.” Without a clear plan for the detention and interrogation of captured terrorists and combatants, we are unnecessarily risking the safety of our nation.”

During the Bush presidency, the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay became an easy target for critics who charged that the government was torturing the prisoners. The administration vehemently denied that the U.S. government used torture to get information from terror suspects. 

Obama’s move to close the prison generated an intense debate over where the prisoners will go. Asked about it, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, “We have developed some options in terms of how many we think could be returned to other countries to take them. That diplomatic initiative has not started. That will await work in carrying out the executive order.”

“We have identified a number of possible prisons here in the United States” that could take the detainees. However, Gates added, “I’ve heard from members of Congress where all those prisons are located. Their enthusiasm is limited.” 

“Rep. Bill Young, R-Florida, said he has “quite a bit of anxiety” about the possibility of transferring detainees to U.S. facilities.” Number one, they’re dangerous,” Young said. “Secondly, once they become present in the United States, what is their legal status? What is their constitutional status? I worry about that, because I don’t want them to have the same constitutional rights that you and I have. They’re our enemy.”