Guantanamo prison must be closed — and invalidated

By BRIAN GILMORE

The prison at Guantanamo must be closed.

Even more important, “Gitmo” and everything it represents must be invalidated. This includes the military tribunal process, the human rights violations, torture, and the blatant disregard for the rule of law.

This is President Obama’s challenge.

As Obama noted in his May 21 speech on the issue, Guantanamo and the activities that occurred there set back the “moral authority” of the United States. Closing Guantanamo would help restore that authority.

Conjuring up fears

But Republicans, led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, are opposing this, conjuring up fears that Guantanamo detainees will be released to roam free here in America. Even some influential Democrats in Congress have bought into this.

“We will never allow terrorists to be released into the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said recently.

What they’re forgetting is that the U.S. prison system currently houses some very dangerous individuals. Among the notables: Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, a man guilty of killing several innocent citizens with sophisticated mail bombs, is housed in the federal prison in Colorado.

Ramzi Yousef, the man who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, is housed in the same prison as Kaczynski.

Eric Rudolph, a man who killed several people when he bombed abortion clinics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, is also housed in a federal prison.

So is Terry Nichols, who assisted Timothy McVeigh in bombing a federal building in Oklahoma City where 168 people were brutally murdered.

The idea that Guantanamo detainees will somehow escape from maximum-security prisons in the United States is a foolish one.

Military tribunals

Obama should be applauded for his decision to close Gitmo, but he should be criticized for going forward with military tribunals down there. These tribunals are an insult to the rule of law. All prisoners who are charged there with crimes should be given real trials in federal courts or in recognized international judicial tribunals that prosecute war crimes.

X Brian Gilmore is a writer for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine.