New push for Guantanamo Bay closure

New push for Guantanamo Bay closure

U.S. in largest transfer under Obama

The United States announced it sent 15 Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United Arab Emirates, marking the largest single transfer during the tenure of Barack Obama, who believes that Guantanamo Bay fuels the recruitment of jihadists and creates stronger anti-U.S. feelings. "This is about closing a chapter in our history," Obama said. "It reflects the lessons we've learned since 9/11 - lessons that must guide our nation going forward."

PanARMENIAN.Net - According to the Pentagon, the transfer of 12 Yemeni nationals and 3 Afghans brings the total number of prisoners down to 61 at the U.S. facility in Cuba. The released inmates had been held without charge, some for over 14 years.

"The United States is grateful to the government of the United Arab Emirates for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," the Pentagon said in a statement.

At the time of the establishment off Guantanamo Bay detention camp in January 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said it was established to detain extraordinarily dangerous people, to interrogate detainees in an optimal setting, and to prosecute detainees for war crimes. In practice, the site has long been used for indefinite detention without trial.

The camp began receiving suspected members of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks, and fighters for the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist faction that had ruled Afghanistan (1996–2001) and harbored al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his followers.

Initially, the Department of Defense kept secret the identity of the individuals held in Guantanamo, but later officially acknowledged holding 779 prisoners in the camp.

The facility became the focus of worldwide controversy over alleged violations of the legal rights of detainees under the Geneva Conventions and accusations of torture or abusive treatment of detainees by U.S. authorities.

The camp was repeatedly condemned by international human rights and humanitarian organizations—including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Committee of the Red Cross—as well as by the European Union and the Organization of American States (OAS). In response to the criticism, the Bush administration generally insisted that detainees were well cared for and that none of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” employed on some prisoners were torturous.

In January 2009, Obama fulfilled a campaign pledge by ordering the closure of the facility at Guantánamo within one year and a review of ways to transfer detainees to the United States for imprisonment or trial. He also required interrogators to use only the techniques contained in the U.S. Army’s field manual on interrogation, none of which was considered torturous. The closure of the Guantánamo camp was subsequently delayed by opposition from Republicans and some Democrats in Congress, who argued that housing the detainees in prisons on U.S. soil would imperil national security. In 2013 more than half of the camp’s 166 detainees, some of whom had been cleared for release or transfer, engaged in a hunger strike to draw attention to their situation.

In February 2016, the White House presented to Congress a plan to close the facility, transferring the remaining detainees to their home countries or to U.S. military or civilian prisons.

Although the camp costs $445 million to run annually, many Republicans remain strongly opposed to bringing inmates to the U.S., saying they are extremely dangerous and do not belong in civilian prisons.

Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, condemned the latest releases, saying: "Once again, hardened terrorists are being released to foreign countries where they will be a threat."

Most of the prisoners freed from Guantanamo Bay - a total of 532 - were released under the previous administration of George W Bush. The office of the director of national intelligence says 21% of those went on to re-engage in militant activities, while of those released under Obama only 5% have done so.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed to keep the Guantanamo Bay facility open, saying he will fill it with "bad dudes" and "bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding", referring to the controversial interrogation technique human rights activists regard as torture.

Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton said in February that she backs President Obama’s effort to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center but stressed the terrorist suspects would not necessarily be transferred to a military jail here.

Lusine Mkrtumova / PanARMENIAN.Net
 Most popular in the section
How collection of horned creatures turned into museum
New York’s first female crime boss
World’s largest boneyard
An Italian photojournalist’s journey through the pandemic
 At focus
Azerbaijan admits death of 192 soldiers in Karabakh offensive

Azerbaijan admits death of 192 soldiers in Karabakh offensive Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive.

 More articles in this section
Quarantine in metropoles Drone footage reveals deserted streets
Town without newborns and dead Four months without sun
Nine months in the Pacific Supporting women to overcome life changing events
---