The Great Debate

At his news conference on Tuesday, President Barack Obama for the first time in years spoke about the controversial detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which he had promised to close when he first took office.

“Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe,” Obama said, responding to a reporter’s question. “It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens cooperation with our allies on counterterrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed.” He went on to acknowledge that more than half the detainees have been officially cleared for release.

As if to forestall the obvious next question – then why hasn’t he closed it? – the president blamed the prison’s continued existence on Congress. “Congress,” he said, “determined that they would not let us close it.”

Though Congress has made closing the prison difficult, Obama is the one who put his legacy on the line by ordering its closure within days of assuming office. It’s still in his power to follow through.

In his remarks, Obama began to acknowledge this, pledging to “examine every option that we have administratively to try to deal with this issue.” He actually has many such options.

- Moazzam Begg is Director for the British organisation, Cageprisoners. The opinions expressed are his own. -

Little seems to have changed regarding the treatment of prisoners held at the U.S. military-run Bagram prison since I was there (2002-2004). The recent study conducted by the BBC shows allegations of sleep deprivation, stress positions, beatings, degrading treatment, religious and racial abuse have gone unabated. On a personal level though, I can’t help wonder if British intelligence services are still involved.

In April this year, a report issued by Cageprisoners entitled Fabricating Terrorism II highlighted through eyewitness testimony the cases of 29 people, all of them either British residents or citizens, who had allegedly been tortured and abused in the presence of British intelligence agents or at their behest.

- Cori Crider represents 30 Guantánamo prisoners as an attorney with legal charity Reprieve. The opinions expressed are her own. -

You would be hard-pressed to find a kid more thrilled on Barack Obama’s first day in office than Mohammed el Gharani. On January 21, had you been standing at the right corner of Guantanamo Bay, you could have heard him whoop for joy when the U.S. President made history—so we thought—by closing the prison where el Gharani grew up.

It is four months since that decision. The president gave a speech, "clarifying" his plans for Guantanamo on Thursday. But I fear we will all look back on May 21, 2009, as the day real history was made—The Day President Obama Un-Closed Guantanamo.

Mitch McConnell is the Senate Republican Leader. Any opinions expressed are his own.

From the first moments of the Obama Administration, continuing through today, its 100th day, Senate Republicans have pledged to work closely with our new president to find solutions to the many foreign policy challenges we face. As our armed forces continue to wage two wars overseas, Republicans believe it’s important to work with the new administration to advance a foreign policy agenda that protects the American people and furthers our interests abroad.

So far, there have been two major points of convergence. Republicans agree with the President’s strategies in Iraq and in Afghanistan, where the new administration has agreed in both cases to closely follow the best advice of our military commanders on the ground. We part ways, however, with the administration’s proposal to close the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by an arbitrary date in January 2010, before it even has a plan for the 240 terrorists who are there.