1 of 19

No

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

them are hardened criminals dedicated to killing and destruction. Less than 250 prisoners remain at Guantanamo. They include the infamous "Gitmo 5", who have publicly taken pride in their part in the deaths of thousands on 9/11.

Some of those who have been cleared or might be cleared in the future cannot be released to their own countries because of the likelihood they will be imprisoned, tortured, or even killed. So protecting them by holding them at Guantanamo until a solution can be reached makes us the bad guys?

Also telling is the loud criticism of our allies for holding these prisoners at Guantanamo, but the lack of substantial offers to take any of them off our hands. Hypocrisy, anyone?

The prisoners, labeled as "enemy combatants" under the Geneva Convention, were to be held until the end of the conflict, as in prior wars. However, this conflict may well go on for decades. Our collective sense of fairness, and much of the clamor from human rights groups, calls for the United States to either charge and convict these individuals within a reasonable time, or release them.

The difficulty lies in how to try them and what rules of evidence to use. They are not United States citizens entitled to the rule of law in civilian courts; they are "enemy combatants" taken into custody during war. Some process must be employed to determine which of these people posed a threat to our country or still pose a threat, and should be punished for it. Military tribunals would provide a forum for fair treatment under the Geneva Convention, but would protect the intelligence sources of the U.S. and its allies from public exposure.

Every United States citizen owes it to themselves and these prisoners to educate themselves on Guantanamo Bay and related issues, and to consider the sources of the information. It all comes down to this: who do you trust more, the word of the U.S. government and military, or that of some of the most dangerous, violent, and unscrupulous criminals in the world?

But regardless of how we decide to process these prisoners, they must be held for a time at some location. Moving them from Guantanamo Bay only relocates the problem; it does not solve it. A rose by any other name...

Learn more about this author, Joyce Gray.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Should the US close the military prison on Guantanamo Bay? ?
We want to hear your view. Write now!