Mullens, Amnesty International, Mark Sixth Anniversary of Gitmo Prison

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the facility at Guantanamo Bay on Sunday, January 13, accompanied by three reporters who were permitted to chronicle a portion of his visit, his first since becoming head of President George W. Bush's military advisors.

"I'd like to see it shut down," Mullen told the reporters, noting that the facility in the eyes of world opinion has "...been pretty damaging."

Worldwide protests were conducted at United States embassies just two days before on January 11 - peaceful protests organized by Amnesty International - to make it clear just how damaging to American interests it is to keep Guantanamo Bay's prison operating. Thousands gathered from the steps of the United States Supreme Court, to the gates of embassies in London, Madrid, and Istanbul, many dressed in signature orange jumpsuits, heads covered in muffling black bags, and erected prison cells to protest the sixth anniversary of the opening of the prison facility.

The protests were captured in pictures from the Associated Press and Reuters - and were nearly invisible in American news media reports, buried under the avalanche of pundits trying to decipher how they missed predicting the winners in the New Hampshire primaries held just the day before.

The number of prisoners at Gitmo has steadily shrunk over that six years, which now stands at 277 according reports from the United States Navy, which operates the military base on the southeastern edge of Cuba under a lease agreement that has been in place since 1903 and reaffirmed as a perpetual lease in 1934. The number of prisoners being held is down from the high of either 600 or 700, depending on the source.

Fifteen prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are awaiting a ruling from the United States Supreme Court on whether or not a Writ of Habeas Corpus should be issued, and they should stand trial outside of the military tribunals that have thus far been the sole legal recourse available to the prisoners to gain their freedom.

Four of the original prisoners are awaiting military trials, and a special, high security courtroom is being built to conduct trials for 14 prisoners who were, until recently, being held in CIA operated facilities in other nations. Those 14 are considered terrorist threats in the United States, and their trials will be broadcast to special locations within the United States. About 100 of the remaining prisoners are being held in the high security section of the prison, deemed "high risk" by the military, and are under 24 hour guard.