In all likelihood, the challenge posed by the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay will be left to President Barack Obama’s successor. That’s because members of Congress are adamant none of the 91 prisoners detained at Guantanamo should be transferred to prisons on U.S. territory.
The opponents have an overriding fear that any such plan would invite attacks by other terrorists seeking to free the transferred prisoners. If the argument were strictly based on emotions, congressional opponents would win the day.
But there’s this pesky thing called the law, which keeps getting in the way when people want to do something that feels good but isn’t necessarily legal. America has treaty obligations under international law that conflict directly with the ongoing detentions at Guantanamo.
The facility is ridiculously expensive, at roughly $4.9 million a year per prisoner, and could do more to endanger Americans than enhance national security. Note, for example, the orange uniforms worn by U.S. hostages detained by the Islamic State — a clear attempt to mimic the orange uniforms worn by Guantanamo detainees.
The prison has operated since the early days of the post-9/11 “war on terror.” Detainees’ status has always been complicated since they didn’t fall neatly into the standard prisoner-of-war categories outlined in the Geneva Conventions. A hazy legal status doesn’t justify keeping them in the Guantanamo limbo forever, which is why Obama is pressing the issue with his Feb. 23 plan to shut down the prison.
Why not just ignore the Geneva Conventions? That’s what some in Congress are suggesting. Here’s why: These treaties not only have the weight of law in the United States, they are all that prevent U.S. troops from being tortured and abused when they are captured abroad, such as during the Vietnam War or U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Should we ignore them because the North Vietnamese did?
Many Americans presume the Guantanamo detainees are automatically guilty. Otherwise, why would they be there? It’s not good enough to take the military’s or CIA’s word for it, however. Eventually, military or civilian courts will have to justify these ongoing detentions by weighing evidence and testimony, not innuendo and assumption.
At its height, the U.S. program had 540 detainees at Guantanamo. Of the 91 prisoners who remain, 35 are slated for transfer to other countries. Some extremely dangerous people are among those who remain. Putting them on trial poses significant problems, since some were tortured into confessing. Intelligence sources could be compromised in a public trial.
There are no simple answers. But since Congress stands in the way of Obama’s solution, members have an obligation to come up with a better idea. Keeping prisoners at Guantanamo only kicks the problem down the road.
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
