Obama to close Guantanamo Bay

[Wayne Luke]

I believe its about time and my post will probably get this thread closed.

At its heart, the prison at Guantanomo Bay is illegal under the 4th amendment of the Constitution of the United States. No one held in the prison has been found guilty of any crime and yet they have been denied Due Process and their property has been forfeit. I would go so far as to say it violates the Geneva War Convention and International Law but other countries sit by and do nothing. Why the architects behind this idea have not been tried under the High Crimes and Misdemeanors clause or subjected to an International War Crimes tribunal is beyond me. However they are reliant on the environment of fear that they want to portray. By having this prison they give people the false hope that something is being done.

By keeping the nation in constant fear, they have done the terrorist's job for them. This really isn't the way to tackle the issue. Even with all the physical and psychological torture of the prisoners has not allowed this program to reveal significant information for what it was meant to achieve... The capture and detention of Osama Bin Laden. In fact, I am sure participants have been planted to feed the administration false information. It would be nothing for a martyr to accept torture to mislead his enemy.

When these participants are found guilty of crimes and afforded due process as allowed under the law then they can be rightfully imprisoned. In fact for the few participants that have been found guilty of crimes, they are imprisoned in prisons on America soil and provided all rights as afforded under our laws. Closing down a blight on the American soul will allow us to move on, rebuild international relations and hopefully actually do some good in the world. Those detainees that haven't been charged with a crime should be free to go. Those that have should be processed through the proper criminal system.

That Barack Obama is willing to take the flak from his Generals and Admirals and close down this prison shows a lot about his character. As long as he continues to do what is right based on the foundations of this country, he will do more in the fight against terror than has been accomplished in the last 8 years. The first step is not giving into fear because that is what they want.