Close Gitmo? It's about time!

In a Washington press conference this week, US President Barack Obama broke his long silence on the Guantánamo Bay (‘Gitmo’) complex - an American prison camp situated in Cuba.

It’s about time. Since February, detainees have been hunger striking, and according to military officials, 100 of the 166 prisoners are now refusing to eat in protest over their incarceration without trial. Many have been in custody for more than a decade, and for these individuals there is zero prospect of release.

Guantánamo Bay is a revolting remnant of former President George W. Bush’s counter-terrorism policies. Outside of US jurisdiction, the compound clings to America’s international reputation like a fetid stink, and is - in every conceivable way - immoral.

Now, Obama has gone on record to decry the institution. Indeed - he made its closure part of his 2008 election campaign, and yet it remains open. The reason? Congress - his initial attempt was blocked by the USA’s legislature, and the same thing may well happen this time around.

However, its closure may be immaterial. In a speech given in 2009 at the National Archives, Obama raised the option of ‘prolonged detention’ for potential terrorists. After attacking the previous administration’s approach to counter-terrorism as ‘ad-hoc’ and ‘based on fear rather than foresight’ he proposed a strategy of incarceration without trial of his own.

In this new post-Gitmo solution, suspects would be detained despite lack of prosecution because ‘evidence may be tainted’. Despite this speech being given in a different political climate, it does rather suggest that Gitmo is more of a public relations problem than anything else.

By re-affirming his desire to close the base he focuses on the relevance of it as a relic of a bygone era, and alludes to Congress being stuffed with side-stepping cowards. America’s international reputation is every bit as much of a recruitment tool as some radicalising provincial cleric, so its closure may be symbolic and practical -  but not necessarily ethical.

Just to recap - the Guantanamo detainees are being held without trial. This Kafka-esque nightmare should send chills down the spine of any American.

For a country that has successfully branded itself as ‘The land of the free’ to be engaged in this not only queries the morality of the fight, but - to many jihadis - justifies the monstrous acts of terrorism they undertake.

21 inmates are now being force fed as a result of hunger strikes. This basically means tying a detainee down and funnel-feeding them liquid supplements so that they cannot be allowed to die.

"Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe," says Obama. "It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens co-operation with our allies on counter-terrorism efforts. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed.’

If the President manages to close Gitmo, he will be rightly serenaded as a champion of justice and rule-of-law. But for now, it is a pox upon the faces of Mount Rushmore and a foul stain upon the flag.