Guantanamo Bay

I wrote this about a year ago for school...some of the information in it may be irrelevant or inaccurate but tell me what you think. It's 12 pages long (with the works cited).

            The United States detention facility located at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was opened in 2002 by George W. Bush to hold enemy combatants from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are currently three sections in Guantanamo Bay: Camp Delta, Camp Echo, and Camp Iguana. Insurgents are kept at Guantanamo Bay for a variety of reasons and there are CIA interrogators at the camp to gather information. On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility (Order). As of November 2010, there remain 174 enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay. The United States detention facility located at Guantanamo Bay is a fundamental part of the United States war on terror and should not be shut-down.

            The United States detention facility located at Guantanamo Bay operates in full accordance with international and national law. There are misconceptions that Guantanamo Bay breaks national and international law. One of these misconceptions is the United States government has to either put detainees on trial or release them (Misconceptions). This contention is false. The United States government is under no obligation to put detainees on trial or release them (Geneva). The United States is currently part of an armed conflict in Afghanistan, and the Geneva Convention only requires that enemy combatants be released “after the cessation of active hostilities” (Geneva). Therefore, the United States is under no obligation to release the prisoners kept at Guantanamo Bay even if there is no criminal justification in their detention and the only reason for their detention is that was they were fighting against United States forces. United States military tribunals determined that these detainees were too dangerous to be released back into the world (Misconceptions).

The United States government is allowed to detain insurgents until the fighting in Afghanistan ceases. In Johnson vs. Eisentramp, the United States Supreme Court ruled it was legally permissible to detain enemy combatants and gave the president authorization to hold detainees for the duration of combat (Johnson). In 2006, the United States Supreme Court, recognized the legality of Guantanamo Bay. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld allowed the detainment of detainees as long as military tribunals are approved by congress (Hamdan).

            The second misconception about Guantanamo Bay is that detainees can seek aid under the Geneva Convention. According to the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the Taliban and al-Qaeda were labeled as unlawful enemy combatants, not prisoners of war. (Military). A prisoner of war, as defined by the Geneva Convention of 1949, is a person who has fallen to the enemy and follows the following rules: he is commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates, he has a fixed insignia recognizable at a distance, he carries arms (weapons) openly, and he conducts their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war (Geneva). Based on this definition, the Taliban and al-Qaeda detainees cannot be labeled as prisoners of war. They only fulfill one of these requirements. They are commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates, but they have no fixed insignia, they do not carry their arms openly, and they do not conduct operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. The Taliban and al-Qaeda openly violate the Geneva Convention and cannot seek aid under the Geneva Convention (Misconceptions). Furthermore, the United States Supreme Court has never given Prisoner of War status to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay (Hamdan) meaning al-Qaeda and Taliban members cannot seek aid under the Geneva Convention.

It has been argued that some Guantanamo Bay detainees have not participated in any act of violence against the United States. Because, the Taliban and al-Qaeda openly violate the Geneva Convention, it is difficult for the United States Military to determine upon the capture of a combatant if they are part of the enemies forces. The United States has developed a screening system for each detainee which exceeds the guidelines set by the Geneva Convention and by United States military standards. Ironically, Guantanamo Bay detainees receive more protection from this screening system because they directly disobey the Geneva Convention (Misconceptions).

            Detainees in Guantanamo Bay have no right to seek Habeas Corpus relief. Habeas Corpus relief refers to legal action brought by someone who believes that he or she is being imprisoned unjustly and is a fundamental under the United States Constitution (Constitution). The United States Supreme Court ruled over fifty years ago that if a non-citizen enemy combatant is captured during wartime and imprisoned outside of the United States he or she does not have the right to Habeas Corpus (Johnson). This case involved 21 German nationals who were convicted of espionage and then kept in allied occupied Germany after the cessation of World War Two. The 21 Germans petitioned a United States federal judge to release them under a writ of Habeas Corpus saying they had been wrongfully imprisoned. (Johnson). The United States Supreme Court ruled that the German prisoners had no right of Habeas Corpus because there was no point in time that the German prisoners ever set foot on American soil and, thus, they were beyond the American court system (Johnson). Fifty years later, Guantanamo Bay detainees are in the same situation as the German nationals. The prisoners at Guantanamo Bay never set foot on any territory that the United States is sovereign over, and the crimes they committed were in Afghanistan. Therefore, they are beyond the United States judicial system (Misconceptions).

            The detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are fundamentalist Muslims who want to do harm to the western powers including the United States. “These 'detainees' are not innocent foot soldiers ...They are Islamic fundamentalists from across the Middle East, rabid jihadists who have dedicated their lives to the destruction of America and Western civilization,” (American). The individuals detained in Guantanamo Bay want to destroy the United States and would gladly kill innocent people to achieve their goal. The United States does not bring every Muslim that they capture in Afghanistan to be kept at Guantanamo Bay. Rather those detained are, “al-Qaeda organizers, bomb makers, financial specialists, recruiters of suicide attackers, and just plain killers. Many of these men met frequently with Osama bin Laden,” (American). People in any of these categories are extremely dangerous. They enable al-Qaeda to commit many acts of murder and kidnapping of innocent civilians not involved in the war in any way. By keeping these people away from the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States Government significantly damages al-Qaeda and the Taliban’s cause. People detained at Guantanamo Bay have been involved in bombings, kidnappings, and many more atrocities mainly occurring in civilian populations resulting in the death of hundreds of people. The detainees kept at Guantanamo Bay are extremely dangerous. These are people who have played a huge role in trying to destroy the western vision of democracy (American).

            These insurgents captured by the United States armed forces are extremely dangerous and hate the United States. Many detainees, after being released from Guantanamo Bay, have immediately returned to arms against United States and coalition forces (CNN). Guantanamo Bay should be kept open to stop fundamentalist Muslims captured by the United States Armed forces from returning to fight against the United States. “[A] total of 598 detainees [have] been transferred from the Guantanamo facility, with one hundred fifty confirmed or suspected of later taking part in terrorist or insurgent activities” (CNN). Therefore, 25% of the prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay went back to fight against the United States and its allies; one hundred fifty fundamentalist Muslims intent on destroying the western powers returning to the fight. If Guantanamo Bay is closed, additional terrorists and insurgents will be released and will return to the fight putting many more people in danger. According to retiring Senator Christopher Bond of Missouri, “It is unacceptable to continue transferring these dangerous detainees when we know that one in four are confirmed or suspected of returning to the fight” (CNN.)

The United States government should not continue placing our soldiers and civilian populations in danger by releasing or transferring prisoners to foreign governments, many of which are extremely unstable. One example of this error occurred when the United States transferred prisoners to Yemen. “[A]ccording to U.S. officials, several released Guantanamo prisoners are now part of the Yemen-based group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including key leaders” (Transfers). This shows the United States is unable to rely on foreign nations to restrain their insurgents. As discussed above there are 150 terrorist and insurgents, former Guantanamo Bay detainees, who have returned to the fight; on the fateful day of September 11, 2001 it took just 19 terrorists to plan and succeed in killing 2,819 people. Of this number, only 55 soldiers were killed; all of the rest were civilian. These numbers do not include the amount of psychological trauma that the rest of the country experienced. There were 422,000 cases of post-traumatic-stress disorder in New York City alone (9/11). By keeping the Guantanamo Bay detention facility open, there will be less of chance of tragedies as horrible as 9/11 from ever occurring again. The men kept at Guantanamo Bay are dangerous and are intent on destroying the United States. The United States government has a responsibility to not allow even one Guantanamo detainee from returning to fight against the United States.

            Guantanamo Bay has become a key part of the United States war on terror (Disaster). Guantanamo Bay provides key intelligence crucial to stopping other terrorist attacks from occurring in the United States. A statement made by Admiral Dennis Blair, president Barrack Obama’s director of national intelligence, states that “[h]igh value information came from [CIA] interrogations in which [CIA interrogation] methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country” (Disaster). Interrogators at Guantanamo Bay are from the CIA and help stop terrorist activities against the United States. According to the current CIA director Leon Panetta, “[i]mportant information was gathered from these detainees. [The CIA program] provided information that was acted upon” (Disaster). This intelligence gathered at Guantanamo Bay has been used to help the United States combat terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan and is needed to keep the United States safe. According to President Obama’s homeland security advisor, John Brennan, “enhanced interrogation techniques ‘were necessary to keep America safe’.” When asked, “[w]ould the U.S. be handicapped if the CIA was not, in fact, able to carry out these types of detention and debriefing activities? ‘[John Brennan replied] yes’.” (Disaster). So, if the CIA is not able to interrogate detainees, as they do now, the United States would not be as safe. The closing of Guantanamo Bay would mean the CIA would not be able to interrogate detainees as they do now. As a result, the United States would not be as safe and would be more prone to a terrorist attack (Disaster). Former CIA director George Tenet, who was appointed by President Clinton, stated that “this program has saved lives. [George Tenet] knows we've disrupted plots. [George Tenet] knows this program alone is worth more than what the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency put together have been able to tell [the United States]” (Disaster). The interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay has yielded information vital to the United States defense.

            The interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay has been effective at uncovering many plots. According to former CIA inspector General John Helgerson, “interrogation has provided intelligence that has enabled the identification and apprehension of other terrorists … plots, the agency did not know about before Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other detainees were interrogated, included plans to…attack the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan; hijack aircraft to fly into Heathrow Airport…[and] hijack and fly an airplane into the tallest building in California in a west coast version of the World Trade Center attack” (Disaster). These plots would have killed hundreds or even thousands of innocent people. These are only three plots, but there have been many more plots uncovered through the enhanced interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay (Disaster). Without these interrogations, these terroristic plots may have succeeded in their goal of death, destruction, and widespread panic. The United States government should not close Guantanamo Bay. The United States government will never know how many other plots terrorists have thought up of and how many lives are at stake.

            Interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay do not constitute torture. Torture is defined as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession” (Convention). There have been allegations of “sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation…and beatings. Other stress-inducing tactics have allegedly included sexual provocation and displays of contempt for Islamic symbols” (Doctors). None of the allegations can be considered torture. Sleep deprivation does not cause long term psychological and physiological damage rather it is used as a stressor to make terrorists easier to interrogate. This interrogation technique is used by almost every police force in the United States (Deception). Prolonged isolation means to keep someone or someones completely alone. This is a punishment utilized by prisons throughout the United States (New Yorker). Guards are provoked everyday by detainees at Guantanamo Bay and cases of beatings are not widespread. For these few cases the guard feels regret (BBC). Since, there was no planned intent to beat the person and it does not directly correspond to the interrogation beatings do not constitute torture according to UN rules (Convention). Beatings happen every day in prison systems across the United States and the result is the prison guard is arrested and put on trial (Disaster). Contempt towards a religion causes distress, but does not constitute the torture; there is no severe physical or psychological harm to the detainee. Finally, sexual provocation causes sexual distress and discomfort. This stressor is comprised of promising sexual contact and then, never giving it to the person. The end result causes frustration and tension. There is no way that sexual provocation constitutes torture again sexual provocation is a stressor. Detainees at Guantanamo Bay do not sustain any permanent physical damage and the psychological damage received is no more or less than any penitentiary system in the United States; on its own prison causes psychological damage (Confinement).

            “[I]interrogators could gain access to personal health information (and did so to set limits on practices that might put detainees’ health at risk)” (Doctors). That does not sound like torture. In fact it actually sounds like doctors and interrogators cared about detainees’ health. After a few months interrogators were frustrated about how slowly intelligence was being gathered. In late 2002 Major General Geoffrey Miller, the commander at Guantanamo Bay, established the Behavioral Science Consultation Team (BSCT) (Doctors). BSCT is supposed to figure out ways to make detainees more receptive to interrogation. What was found was that torture was counter-productive. It did not work. The BSCT found that another technique, called “rapport”, is better at getting more reliable answers. Rapport involves creating a high stress environment which erodes established behavior such as resistance to questioning. They do this by creating “complex reward systems (e.g., the creation of multiple camp “levels” with different privileges) [to] promote cooperation. Stressors [are] tailored to the psychological and cultural vulnerabilities of individual detainees (e.g., phobias, personality features, and religious beliefs)” (Doctors). Guantanamo Bay interrogators mostly utilize stressors to get information from detainees.

            Many people argue that Guantanamo Bay is a horrible place, even going as far to say it is an American gulag. In reality, detainees at Guantanamo Bay receive excellent care. Vice Admiral Albert Church stated that “the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo is a model that should be considered for use in other interrogation operations in the global war on terror” (Conditions). The detainees are supplied with: “a Koran, prayer mat, and cap. Loudspeakers in the camps broadcast the Muslims' call to prayer five times each day. All prisoners' meals are certified halal (adhering to Islamic law) by Guantanamo's Muslim chaplain. Religious services are held for the prisoners on a regular basis. The floor of every cell has a stenciled arrow pointing toward Mecca, so that prisoners may face the correct direction while saying their prayers” (Conditions). In addition the prisoners receive state of the art medical and educational assistance. Between April 2002 and March 2003, the detainees gained an average of 13 pounds at Guantanamo Bay contradicting the argument that detainees are malnourished at Guantanamo Bay (Conditions).

            Ex-president George W. Bush opened the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to hold terrorists for as long as the United States government believed it was necessary to hold them. The men kept at Guantanamo Bay are not good and honest men. These people have dedicated their lives to kill and destroy anybody or anything they deem necessary. To achieve their goal of destroying the western world, they have to destroy the United States and its civilian and military population. Guantanamo Bay is not breaking any international or national laws such as the Geneva Convention or the Constitution. Guantanamo Bay has provided key intelligence to assist the war on terror, and Guantanamo Bay detainees are treated humanely. The Guantanamo Bay detention facility is a crucial part of the United States War on Terror and it must not be shut down.

Works Cited

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Groves, Steven, and Brian Walsh. Dispelling Misconceptions: Guantanamo Bay Detainee Procedures Exceed the Requirements of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Law, and Customary International Law. Issue brief no. 1556. The Heritage Foundation, 13 July 2007. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.

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US Const. Art. 1 Sec. 9