Guantanamo to Stay Open

The New York Times reported October 21 that President Bush has decided to keep the infamous detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, open. The Times says, "...Mr. Bush adopted the view of his most hawkish advisers that closing Guantanamo would involve too many legal and political risks to be acceptable, now or any time soon," citing federal officials.

I have to admit that I'm torn on this issue. On the one hand, I don't believe that enemy combatants picked up on the battlefield are entitled to the same rights and protections enjoyed by American citizens in the U.S. judicial system. There also has to be a place to keep those enemy combatants once they are captured. But it goes against everything I believe in to hold anyone indefinitely without charges being preferred against them.

Now, I don't pretend to be smart enough in legal matters to fully comprehend the myriad of arguments that have been made in favor of and opposed to Guantanamo Bay. But I do know that it just isn't right to detain someone for years and years without even telling them why they are being held, or without giving them a chance to defend themselves.

I would imagine that this is a tough issue for the President, although I don't know that for sure. And this is the kind of thing we pay him for. His job is to receive advice from the advisers he surrounds himself with, and then make an informed decision.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama have spoken out against the Guantanamo detention center, and both have promised to close the facility if they become president. But the New York Times cites a senior administration official as saying "...it would be much harder to fulfill a campaign promise to close the prison than either candidate has stated." The Times quotes the official as saying, "This may not be the ideal answer, but what we are trying to do is work with the system we've got."

I, for one, don't doubt that the next president, whoever it may be, will immediately move to close Guantanamo. The question, though, then becomes one of disposition: what do you do with the inmates currently at Guantanamo if you close the detention center?

According to the Times, Senator McCain has suggested relocating the detainees to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Senator Obama has not specified what he would do with the detainees currently being held.

There's no question this is a complex issue. But I still expect, if for no other reason than to signal a marked shift from Bush administration policies, either John McCain or Barack Obama to move swiftly to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.