Closing Guantanamo Bay and The Debate Surrounding It

An Argument for Closing Guantanamo Bay

Society in a post-9/11 America has been a breeding ground for extreme nationalism and in turn, has produced a fear of terrorism that has become a paramount concern for the United States. With three in five Americans fearful of attacks from foreign or domestic terrorists as of December 2015 (Russonello), terrorism is seen now as one of the biggest threats to Americans. Naturally, the immediate response to the terrorists attack were retaliation on the “enemy”, and so America invaded the Middle East to weed out terrorists. Yet there is still a large controversy over what to do with the detainees in Guantanamo Bay that are allegedly connected or members of the terrorist group, Al Qaeda. Although the subject is very emotional, one must keep in mind that keeping Guantanamo Bay open is infringing on the basic human rights of those in the detention facility and steps should be done to close it as quickly as possible.

The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 launched America into immediate retaliation against the radical Islamic-fundamentalists group, Al Qaeda. Contrary to popular belief, Al Qaeda is more of an ideology derived from Sunni Muslim radicals and their fundamental Islamic belief system rather than an actual organization. During its peak, they served as a “venture capital firm” funding, providing contacts, and distributing advice to other militant groups as well as individuals in the Islamic world (Burke). Then-President George W. Bush went directly to the Taliban to demand that they discontinue their protection of Al Qaeda and that they also turn over anyone affiliated with the terrorist group to the United States military. There was not a specified or decisive reasoning for why the Taliban refused to do so, although some say it was due to the United States’ subpar negotiation skills. But upon the Taliban’s refusal, the U.S. raided the Taliban and Al Qaeda with missiles and air strikes. 10,000 alleged members of Al Qaeda were captured, with 1,000 of those then sent to Guantanamo Bay detention camp (Yin).

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also referred to as “Gitmo" or “Guantanamo”, is a U.S. military prison located on the Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The camp was created after 9/11 to detain terrorists. The location of Guantanamo was chosen for reasons that Tung Yin, an associate professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, lists in his article, “Ending the War of Terrorism One Terrorist at a Time”: Cuba is across the globe from Afghanistan, surrounded by water, and because it was technically “outside” of U.S. territory, they believed that they were immune to judicial review. To some extent, this will prove to be true when reviewing the treatment of detainees though the Geneva Convention and international law. After the makeshift Camp X-Ray, which held detainees in wire cages for 23 hours a day, the first established camp was Camp Delta in 2002. It took ten million dollars to create, and has several sub-camps with varying levels of security for each group. Later, two more camps were also built that took 25 million dollars to establish (Yin).

Since its creation, it has been understood that Gitmo would be temporary, with President Bush stating that he would like to close it at some point (Myers). However, it is still functioning as a detainment camp today, which brings division across the nation as to whether this is a positive or a negative. Generally, those who oppose the closing to Guantanamo argue that the risk of recidivism in released detainees is too great while those in favor of closing would argue that holding people of no threat will be seen as “undesirable” and would be hard to convince otherwise (Yin). There are also problems the camp has with allegations of torture and also the infringement on prisoners rights to legal process (Ivey). According to a poll done by CNN this March, the American public continues to oppose President Obama’s plan to close Gitmo by 56%, with 40% approving. The opposition is also largely held by Republicans, with an 83% not in favor (LoBianco). As Donald Trump runs as a Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election, he promises to actually put even more into the camp (Welna). However, during the 2008 presidential election both Obama and McCain agreed that closing Guantanamo Bay would be something they would like to see done (Myers). From the research conducted, the optimal choice would be to shut down Guantanamo Bay permanently, as the matters regarding the treatment of detainees and their right to trial are much more complex and logical for closing than the fear that keeps Gitmo open.

Firstly, allegations of torture have called for “public outcry” as Matthew Ivey said in his article, “Framework for Closing Guantanamo Bay”. This is usually the first thing that come to people’s mind when they think of the treatment of detainees. There have been reports of severe abuse, although one must keep in mind that these testimonies could be exaggerated. In Camp Delta, detainees were have said to face abuses such as beatings, interrogations at gunpoint, being chained like animals, sexual humiliations, dousing with chemical solvents, etc. (Yin). Tung Yin also added that the required amount of time prisoners are allowed to be outside, which is one to two hours long, is shorter than the 6 to 8 hours that prisoners on death row are allowed to be outside. There were also other accounts that describes subjects being food deprived, exposed to extreme hot or cold weather, threaten by German Shepherds, and the CIA even admitted in 2008 to use water boarding on three occasions (Ivey). Prison personnel have even force fed detainees on hunger strike, which is prohibited by Common Article 3 in the Geneva Convention. Detainees were secured by the ankles, wrists, shoulders, a belt around their laps, and a head restraint. But according to the 2006 medical instructions of the Department of Defense and the regulations of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, this is permissible (Rubenstein).

And secondly, the trial process these detainees are facing, or rather lack there of, can be met with controversy as well. Those taken to Guantanamo are being held there “indefinitely”, even Bush stated that the facility was a “legal black hole” (Ivey) and that neither Al Qaeda nor the Taliban can be granted POW status (Yin). Scholars, however, argue that the Taliban at least should be considered for POW status since the Bush Administration directly targeted them for war. And if a detainee was able to go to trial, they may have not been able to be present or review all the evidence against them because of the Military Commissions system established by Bush. Also, statements made under the duress of torture are not allowed to be used in a trail, but if it is done is such a way that “which the degree of coercion is disputed” they can be used (Ivey). There is little doubt that these actions were put into place because of the fear of terrorism, and though they may have good intentions as they detain these people indefinitely, it is clear that they are denying their basic rights. Especially when one takes into account how the rules of international law and of the Geneva Convention, this treatment is not just, and should not be supported.

Based on the past few years, closing Gitmo is not as easy as it sounds. As George Bush said he would like to close Guantanamo, he gave his reasons as to why he left his presidency with it still in effect: it is too complicated to close. It “would involved too many legal and political risks to be acceptable, now or anytime soon,” according to Bush’s advisers (Myers). This being said however, Myers also included in his article for the New York Times that President Bush had not even looked over the drafts proposed by the Pentagon and the State Department, which went over possibilities for transferring the detainees. Closing the prison was not even on the agenda, said administration officials about Bush meeting with his senior security advisers. There was even speculation that the Bush administration kept Guantanamo Bay open for the next president because by doing so it would validate the prison’s purpose and make it seem like it was worth it (Myers).

During Barrack Obama’s presidency in contrast, there has been gradual action, but action nonetheless. But he also agrees that it isn’t easy, but this is probably because of all the opposition he faces when it comes to closing Guantanamo Bay (Welna). President Obama has been in the processing of transferring detainees as fast as he can before his final term is over. Lee Wolosky added in the article for National Public Radio, “If Detainee Population Shrinks Further, Guantanamo May Have to Close” by David Welna, that 242 detainees have been transferred since President Obama has taken office, leaving just 91 left. During President Bush’s presidency, there were as many as 800 detainees. The goal for the Obama administration is to transfer enough out of Guantanamo Bay so that it will seem pointless to keep it open; as of right now roughly 37 more detainees need to be transferred for them to consider closing (Welna). But time is of the essence, Welna also covers in the article, because if Trump wins the presidential election, he not only promises to keep it open but put more into the prison.

Whether it will be closed in the new future or maybe perhaps even thriving, Guantanamo Bay is a subject to which there are clearly divided sides. Because of these differences being prevalent in politics right now, one can confidently assume that the next president will put drastic actions into place concerning Gitmo. Should we get a democratic president, it is likely that Obama’s plan to transfer as many detainees needed to close the camp will continue until it is closed. On the other side, if we were to elect a republican president, we can predict that Guantanamo Bay will stay open and may even have more alleged terrorists sent to the prison. The predictions are a clear illustration as to the dynamic and drastic oppositions for and against the closing of Guantanamo. And although opinions throughout the nation are divided heavily, it would be in the United States’ best interest to consider closing the camp because of the treatment of the detainees, both physically and in the case of their rights to due process. If Americans deny these basic human rights to the detainees of Guantanamo Bay, it will continue to prove difficult in persuading the rest of the world that this certain type of prison is necessary to protect the United States and to secure our nation from foreign invasion.