The government is under international and domestic pressure to close the prison camp, which opened at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay on Cuba in January 2002 to house terrorism suspects caught after the invasion of Afghanistan.
Officials say planning and debate has intensified in recent months over how to deal with Guantanamo, which President Bush acknowledges has tarnished America's image, and human rights advocates say has damaged US credibility.
"Everyone is agreed that we need to find a way that eventually leads to the closure of Guantanamo, which is the president's policy decision. It is a very complicated matter," said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule within weeks whether Guantanamo prisoners have rights under the US Constitution even though they are held on the base in Cuba, where the United States has had a presence for about one hundred years. "If the Supreme Court concludes that the detainees have constitutional rights, then there would be little legal difference between holding them in Guantanamo or holding them on the (US) mainland," one senior official said.
Most of the 270 prisoners now at Guantanamo have been confined for years without charges. More than 500 prisoners have been released, including nine on Thursday. The government has said it intends to try 60 to 80 of those still in detention under war crimes tribunals.
There is also a drive to announce the closure before Bush leaves office rather than have his successor claim credit. All of the candidates for November's presidential election have expressed a wish for Guantanamo to be closed.
The Justice Department is concerned that transferring the detainees to the United States would result in an onslaught of litigation from detainees who would try to use the US justice system to seek their release.
Justice, it would seem, is not suitable for non-US citizens.
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- groups:
- News and Politics, Politics, Election 2008
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- tags:
- News and Politics, Politics, US, Election 2008, 3 more + add
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- mischabarrett
- added this
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Maybe the administration is catching on we don't need to air our dirty laundry in public. You can do all the torture and isolation you want on US soil. Doing it in Cuba is like living in a glass house. Everyone knows whats going on over there.
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I wonder what they are trying to hid from the future administration.
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They are closing it because the next adminstration will be able to see what's going on if they don't. It's the same reasons they "lost" all their emails, and why every major issue like domestic spying is protected by executive priviledge. Eliminate the evidence and no one can say you did anything wrong. Fortunately for us I think everything Bush/Cheney did over the years will eventually get revealed and they'll be seen for the lying, murdering scum they are. I would love to see both of them stand trial for crimes against humanity.
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UROborus, you took the words right out of my mouth..
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- sickinjersey
- 1 year ago
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