Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay is a facility stationed in Cuba that holds persons suspected of terrorism.

Its purpose and conditions have been a source of controversy in the United States as well as the

world.

U.S. presence at Guantanamo Bay started during the Spanish American War when the

location was used as a naval base. The base remained active through the Cuban Revolution,

despite Fidel Castro’s wants to close it. Agreements with Fulgencio Batista, the former president

of Cuba, allowed America to keep it open, making Guantanamo Bay the only U.S. naval base

situated in a communist country. Through the 1990’s, Guantanamo Bay, also known as Gitmo,

became a safe haven for Haitian refugees fleeing their country during a violent government coup

(Fetini). After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, the naval base was converted into a

prison for suspected terrorists, specifically targeting Al Qaeda and Taliban members. Gitmo has

gained negative attention from the media and human rights groups questioning the credibility

and practices of the facility.

The conditions at Gitmo have been the focus of many human rights activists in America.

They say that the facility subjects the detainees to live in unjust conditions such as solitary

confinement, constricting restraints, and unsanitary housing (Amnesty). Many believe that these

conditions can cause psychological damage. Others believe that the conditions at the facility are

fair. They state that Guantanamo staff respects religious freedoms; the facility provides a copy of

the Koran for all holding cells, as well as helping detainees pray in the direction of Mecca, the

muslim holy city (Rhem). The facility is divided into multiple camps based on the detainee’s

level of compliance. The most compliant are housed in camp four, which provides longer

recreational time and communal housing (Rhem). Guantanamo’s Initial Reaction Force (IRF) has

strung up controversy in the past over how they treat the detainees. One man has stated that the

IRF collectively beat him during his recreation time, and laughed as they urinated on him

afterwards. Other allegations of IRF abuse include the deliberate cutting of detainee’s palms with

scissors, hog tying (tying of the hands and feet behind ones back), and eye gouging. Many have

gone on hunger strikes to non-violently protest what they believe to be human rights abuses, to

which the IRF has responded by force feeding the non-compliant detainees (Amnesty).

The conditions at Gitmo have been the focus of many human rights activists in America.

These activists say that the facility subjects the detainees to uncomfortable and inhumane

conditions such as solitary confinement, constricting restraints, unsanitary housing.

Guantanamo’s Initial Reaction Force (IRF) has strung up controversy in the past over how they

treat the detainees. They also believe the tactics used in interrogations of the detainees violate

their human rights and could be considered torture. Many believe that these conditions and

treatments can cause psychological damage, but others believe that the conditions at the facility

are fair. They state that Guantanamo staff respects religious freedoms; the facility provides a

copy of the Koran for all holding cells, as well as helping detainees pray in the direction of

Mecca (their holy city). Decisions on how to approach this controversy and the actions taken

within the camp has been difficult. Both Bush and Obama’s plans of actions have not gained the

support of all Americans.

During the Bush Administration, the policies regarding Guantanamo Bay differed from

those of the Obama Administration. Former President Bush believed that the harsh interrogation

methods, and the facility itself were “the most valuable tools on the war on terror” (Eggen). He

believed that the detainees did not have the legal right to apply for a habeas corpus (a writ

requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the

person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention), for the facility was not on

US soil (stationed in Cuba). Bush talked briefly about closing the facility during the end of his

term but did not follow through with any plans. Overall, his administration saw the facility as

useful and aspired to keep it open (Cutler). The Obama Administration disagrees with these

policies, for since the start of President Obama’s presidency in 2008, he has yearned to close the

facility. The President believes it has been the source of some Anti-American feelings

throughout the world, for some of our fundamental values (abiding by the rules of law and being

against torture) have been violated within the camp. His policy has been one of restricting CIA

interrogation techniques to abide by those “permitted by the US military” (Isikoff), as well as

reviewing each detainees’ cases individually, determining how to try each person. Both plans of

action have sparked controversy throughout America.

There are three main positions regarding the controversial fate of Guantanamo Bay:

closing it, keeping it open, and changing it. The arguments for closing the prison include ending

practices of torture or unusual punishments, releasing cleared inmates, moving the remaining

detainees to American facilities, and adding government oversight. Another side to this argument

is keeping the prison open. People who support this side state that Gitmo was built to hold those

suspicious of being involved with terrorism, and it has been doing just that. They believe there is

no other concrete way to punish these “special” criminals because they cannot be treated the

same as the average American felon. If the US were to release them, it would be a larger threat to

America’s security (Huffington Post). The last stance is to keep it open, but change it. For

instance, none of the detainees have been tried in a court of law, so if trials were to take place, it

would be more organized. They also think that if the US were to release the 78 cleared to go

home (to the country they previously lived in), it could reduce the facility’s cost by almost half.

thereby reducing the facility’s cost by almost half. Government oversight could make sure

nothing out of the lines of the law occurred, helping make Guantanamo Bay safe for the detained

and those watching them. Overall, it has been proven hard to create one effective solution to the

controversy surrounding the facility.

Works Cited:

"A Decade of Guantanamo." Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Oct.

2014. <http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2012/01/

201211171414173881.html>.

CFR. CFR, n.d. Web. 13 July 2007. <http://www.cfr.org/terrorism-and-the-law/

should-guantanamo-bay-closed/p13725>.

"Current Conditions at Guantanamo Bay." Amnesty. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

<http://www.amnesty.org.au/hrs/comments/20595/>.

Cutler, Leonard. "Bush vs. Obama Detainee Policy Post–9/11: An Assessment."

Strategic Studies Quarterly. N.p., 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

<http://www.au.af.mil/au/ssq/2010/summer/cutler.pdf>.

Eggen, Dan. "Bush Announces Veto of Waterboarding Ban." The Washington Post. The

Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2008. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/

AR2008030800304.html>.

Fetini, Alyssa. "A Brief History of Gitmo." Time. Time, 10 Nov. 2008. Web. 20

Oct. 2014. <http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/

0,8599,1858364,00.html>.

Isikoff, Michael. "Obama's Order Ends Bush-Era Interrogation Tactics."

Newsweek. Newsweek LLC, 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

<http://www.newsweek.com/

obamas-order-ends-bush-era-interrogation-tactics-77965>.

Mirror.co.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/

world-news/inside-guantanamo-bay-go-behind-3738818>.

Rhem, Kathleen T. "Detainees Living In Varied Conditions At Guantanamo."

Defense. U.S. Department of Defense, 16 Feb. 2005. Web. 20 Oct.

2014. <http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=25882>.

Stockdale, Nancy L. "Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp." ABC-CLIO eBook Collection.

American Government, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

<http://americangovernment.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/

1299935?terms=guantanamo%20bay>