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VIDEO: Peter Finn of The Washington Post was at Guantanamo in the past month and speaks about developments at the prison. |
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VIDEO: Aziz Huq, director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Project at New York University, speaks about the legal and political implications of keeping Guantánamo open. |
The Bush administration announced that it will not close the prison at Guantánamo Bay and has not examined proposals for transferring the detainees elsewhere. On Tuesday, officials dropped war crime charges against five detainees.
Blogger Spencer Ackerman calls the continuation of the prison “ludicrous” and argues it is illegal in the wake of Boumediene v. Bush, a ruling which limited the ability to keep the prison off of American soil.
H. Candace Gorman, a blogger and lawyer who represents two Guantánamo detainees pro bono, rejects the argument that detainees should be sent to other countries rather than the U.S. because their long captivity has made them hostile towards America.
The American Security Project’s “Flash Point” blog criticizes the lack of exploration into alternative plans.
Both U.S. presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, have called for the closure of Guantánamo in the past. The next administration will face legal and logistical challenges in relocating the 250 prisoners.
Human Rights First provides a blueprint on “How to Close Guantánamo” [PDF] for the next administration.
Colonel Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor at Guantánamo, writes at Georgetown University’s “Security Law” blog about the failures of the prison and outlines a course for Obama or McCain to prosecute war crimes.
An American blogger at “Malbatron” writes that the issue of Guantánamo is the key factor in shaping his decision in the upcoming election.
For more on U.S. prisons abroad, watch Torturing Democracy, airing on PBS stations across the nation.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user The Beast under a Creative Commons license.
10/21/2008 :: 08:59:36 PM
Janet Koren Says:
Why does G.W. Bush refuse to close Gitmo? Because he would rather have his successor clean up his mess instead of dealing with it himself. Add that to the 2 wars that need resolution and the financial ruin of the country. When will America tire of wiping Bush’s ass? For God’s sake, the man has diarrhea! Whoever succeeds Bush has a Herculean task in front of him!