Guantanamo Bay: The Unfortunate Attempt

The status of this United States prison located on Cuban soil is one to be questioned. Although Guantanamo Bay's creation might have come with good intentions, the turnout has been nothing but negative. Many disturbing stories have leaked from this detention center as the years have gone by and they continue to do so. Seemingly, prisoners have been stripped of their rights as human beings, tortured in numerous different ways ranging from physical abuse to exploitation of their religious beliefs. The closure of this prison is currently not an option, despite the numerous demands and protests that have taken place within the past few years.

First, it took almost half a decade for the detainees to begin regaining some of their human rights, and that procedure is still in progress. To avoid giving them the rights of a prisoner of war, a new term was established: unlawful enemy combatants. These alleged unlawful enemy combatants are totally stripped of any rights as they arrive to the American naval base. They were even prohibited to present their case in court. Eventually, in October of 2006, President George W. Bush decided to sign the Military Commission Act of 2006 (MCA). This act enforced the Habeas corpus principal and allowed them to contest their imprisonment. President Bush has now realized the disastrous effects of Guantanamo Bay and regrets certain decisions he made in the recent past.

Second, the involvement of torture during interrogation sessions has been reoccurring far too often. As we all know, torture is illegal internationally. The loophole found by the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the American government was to find methods that would not exactly qualify as or fit the description of torture. An exemplary case is Mohammed Al-Qahtani's (presumed to be the 20th hijacker on September 11th, 2001).

Third, the closure of Guantanamo Bay could seem like a brilliant idea at first thought, but the repercussions are likely to be catastrophic. The main dilemma preventing this prison's closure is the lack of a safe and secure alternative. Where do all the criminals and terrorists go? Those that are proven innocent have trouble finding a country that will even accept them, and a prison with most of the same standards will be required for those convicted and proven guilty. A number of the organizations protesting and insisting on this closure are of the following: Human Rights First, American and Canadian Red Cross, Amnesty International, etc.

To summarize, Guantanamo Bay has unfavorably made a mark in American history. Rather than diminishing terrorist activity; it fueled it. The next step is to patch up the situation as much as possible and make wise decisions to avoid making the whole ordeal any worse than it already is.