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CQR Closing Guantanamo Published by CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. www.cqresearcher.com Closing Guantanamo Does the prison hinder the fight against terrorism? resident Obama has tried for years to close the U.S. military-run detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and incarcerate terrorism suspects in the P United States. Critics of Guantanamo say it serves as a potent propaganda tool for the Islamic State, which makes the prisoners it captures wear orange jumpsuits nearly identical to those worn by Guantanamo inmates. But Republicans and some Democrats have fought to keep the facility open, contending that transferring detainees to U.S. soil would be dangerous. The prison Critics of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility has drawn the opposition of many U.S. allies, who cite allegations protest at the White House on March 11, 2016. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she will continue President Obama’s efforts to of torture t here. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton close the 14-year-old prison for terrorism suspects; Republican nominee Donald Trump wants to close the prison, while Republican nominee Donald wants to expand its use. Trump vows to expand its use. The Obama administration has stopped sending new prisoners to Guantanamo and is steadily reducing the population — now 61 inmates — by transferring I detainees to the custody of U.S. allies. National security analysts THIS REPORT N say the Guantanamo controversy underscores the need to reform THE ISSUES ....................795 S BACKGROUND ................801 how suspects captured in the terrorism fight are tried in court. I CHRONOLOGY ................803 D CURRENT SITUATION ........807 E CQ Researcher • Sept. 30, 2016 • www.cqresearcher.com AT ISSUE ........................809 Volume 26, Number 34 • Pages 793-816 OUTLOOK ......................811 RECIPIENT OF SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AWARD FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY ................814 EXCELLENCE N AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SILVER GAVEL AWARD THE NEXT STEP ..............815 CLOSING GUANTANAMO Sept. 30, 2016 THE ISSUES SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS Volume 26, Number 34 EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Thomas J. Billitteri • Is keeping Guantanamo 796 Guantanamo Base Has [email protected] 795 open helping to fuel global 113-Year History ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS: Kenneth terrorism? The U.S. naval base in Cuba Fireman, [email protected], • Is a new international began as a fueling station. Kathy Koch , [email protected], Chuck McCutcheon , convention needed on the Afghanistan Takes the [email protected], detention and trial of terror - 797 Most Detainees Scott Rohrer, [email protected] ism suspects? Saudi Arabia ranks second as SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: • Should the United States destination for transferred Thomas J. Colin continue sending Guantanamo prisoners. [email protected] detainees to other countries? CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Marcia Clemmitt, Americans Divided on Sarah Glazer, Kenneth Jost, Reed Karaim, 800 Guantanamo Transfers Peter Katel , Barbara Mantel, Tom Price BACKGROUND More Republicans than Democrats disapproved of SENIOR PROJECT EDITOR: Olu B. Davis Early Military Tribunals detainee transfers. EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Anika Reed 801 The use of military courts to try illegal combatants proved Chronology FACT CHECKERS: Eva P. Dasher, controversial. 803 Michelle Harris, Nancie Majkowski, Key events since 1815. Robin Palmer First Detainees Arrive Conditions at Guantanamo 801 The detention centers housed 804 Still Mostly a Mystery the first suspected terrorists Access to the prison remains after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. restricted. Obama versus Congress Lawmakers Spar Over An Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. 805 Lawmakers have strongly 806 Military Force resisted the administration’s SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, Experts debate the use of GLOBAL LEARNING RESOURCES: efforts to close Guantanamo. military force against terrorists. Karen Phillips At Issue: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ONLINE LIBRARY AND CURRENT SITUATION 809 Should the detention center REFERENCE PUBLISHING: at Guantanamo Bay be closed? Todd Baldwin Civilian or Military Courts? 807 Copyright © 2016 CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Pub - Slow-moving military commis - lications, Inc. SAGE reserves all copyright and other sions are drawing criticism. FOR FURTHER RESEARCH rights herein, unless pre vi ous ly spec i fied in writing. No part of this publication may be reproduced Standards of Evidence For More Information electronically or otherwise, without prior written 808 Civil rights groups argue that 813 Organizations to contact. military commissions employ permission. Un au tho rized re pro duc tion or trans mis - loose standards of evidence. sion of SAGE copy right ed material is a violation of Bibliography federal law car ry ing civil fines of up to $100,000. 814 Selected sources used. 810 Blame Game CQ Press is a registered trademark of Congressional The standoff between the The Next Step Quarterly Inc. White House and Congress 815 Additional articles . appears to have no resolution. CQ Researcher (ISSN 1056-2036) is printed on acid-free Citing CQ Researcher paper. Pub lished weekly, except: (March wk. 4) (May 815 Sample bibliography formats. wk. 4) (July wks. 1, 2) (Aug. wks. 2, 3) (Nov. wk. 4) OUTLOOK and (Dec. wks. 3, 4). Published by SAGE Publications, Inc., 2455 Teller Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Annual Finding an End Game full -service subscriptions start at $1,131. For pricing, 811 November’s general election call 1-800-818-7243. To purchase a CQ Researcher report could determine Guantanamo’s in print or electronic format (PDF), visit www.cqpress. fate — or not. com or call 866-427-7737. Single reports start at $15. Bulk purchase discounts and electronic-rights licensing are also available. Periodicals postage paid at Thousand Oaks, California, and at additional mailing offices . POST - MAST ER: Send ad dress chang es to CQ Re search er , 2600 Virginia Ave., N.W., Suite 600, Wash ing ton, DC 20037. Cover: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla 794 CQ Researcher Closing Guantanamo By Patrick Marshall to Guantanamo and is steadily THE ISSUES reducing the prison popula - tion. Detainees deemed not hen the Islamic dangerous by a review panel State (ISIS) executes are being transferred to other W captives, it forces countries, with the largest num - them to wear orange jumpsuits bers being sent to Afghanistan, nearly identical to those worn Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. ( See by suspected terrorists held at graphic, p. 797. ) In August, the U.S. military prison at Guan - the Pentagon announced the 1 y tanamo Bay, Cuba. o largest single transfer during C Critics of the controversial c the Obama years: 15 prisoners M facility say it is a reviled world - e to the United Arab Emirates n a wide symbol of inhumane h (UAE). S treatment and a recruiting tool / Of the roughly 780 people n o i for terrorists. ISIS, they say, t who have been held at the c e l uses the orange jumpsuits to l prison since it opened in o C invoke Guantanamo and incite 2002, 710 have been trans - s 2 e its followers. g ferred to other countries, nine a m The critics have an impor - I detainees have died while in E 7 tant ally. President Obama, F custody and 61 remain. Of I L along with many Democrats those sent to other countries, e h and some top military officials, T 214 are known or suspected / s say the prison not only fails e to have returned to terrorist g to advance national security a or insurgent activities. 8 m I y but also undermines it. t Naureen Shah, Amnesty t “Guantanamo harms our e G International USA’s director partnerships with allies and other Military police bring a Taliban prisoner to Camp X-Ray, of national security and countries whose cooperation we the first detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, in 2002. human rights, said the recent The small compound of tents and open-air cages was need against terrorism,” Obama replaced soon after it opened by Camp Delta, which transfers to the UAE were a said in February. “When I talk includes several camps for detainees of varying risks, “powerful sign that President to other world leaders, they bring recreation rooms, a soccer area, a hospital Obama is serious about clos - up the fact that Guantanamo is and courtroom facilities. ing Guantanamo before he not resolved.” 3 leaves office.” 9 But Rep. Ed In one of his first acts as president, The presidential election is unlikely Royce, a California Republican who Obama issued an executive order to to resolve the stalemate. Democratic chairs the House Foreign Affairs Com - close the prison, part of a 45-square- nominee Hillary Clinton has vowed to mittee, called the transferred detainees mile naval base at Cuba’s southeastern close the Guantanamo prison, while “hardened terrorists” who should have end. 4 But almost eight years later, as Republican nominee Donald Trump remained at Guantanamo. 10 Obama’s second term winds down, the has promised to keep it open and The American public is divided on prison remains open because of a bitter “load it up with some bad dudes.” 5 closing the prison. According to a standoff between the White House and Trump also promised earlier this year CNN/ORC International survey conduct - the Republican-controlled Congress. to use waterboarding and other inter - ed at the end of February, 56 percent Republicans — and some Democrats rogation methods regarded as torture of respondents opposed Obama’s efforts — oppose closure, arguing that Guan - on terrorism suspects, but later said to close the prison, and 40 percent tanamo inmates would pose a security he would follow international law, backed the idea. 11 The division is risk if transferred to prisons on U.S. which outlaws torture. 6 sharply along party lines, with 83 percent soil or to other countries. Some promi - With Congress and the White House of those identifying as Republicans op - nent Republicans also accuse Obama at loggerheads, the prison remains in posed to shutting down the prison com - of failing to work with them on finding limbo.
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