"Obama
forgot that his power is not complete or absolute - and Republicans wasted no time
forcing this truth upon him by refusing to allow former detainees to be brought
to American shores. Meanwhile, the rest of the world, which applauded Obama’s
campaign promise, failed to pitch in by taking in some of the detainees."
Detainees awaiting processing at Guantanamo in 2002: Closing the facility has turned out to be a lot harder than opening it, with allies hesitant to accept released, detainees and the U.S. Congress unwilling to allow released detainees onto U.S. territory - even if deemed 'not dangerous.'
As of today, the American
prison at Guantánamo, located in a Cuban bay of the
same name, has been in place for ten years. Of the nearly 700 prisoners who
have passed through the base, 171 now remain. Aware that Guantanamo was an affront
to the basic principles of human dignity - the very backbone of Western
civilization - Barack Obama made a campaign promise to close it. So on the
second day of his term, the U.S. president signed a decree to do so. But Obama
forgot that his power is not complete or absolute - and Republicans wasted no time
forcing this truth upon him by refusing to allow former detainees to be brought
to American shores. Meanwhile, the rest of the world, which applauded Obama’s
campaign promise, failed to pitch in by taking in some of the detainees.
Ten years later, with the
Taliban preparing for talks to end of the conflict in Afghanistan and putting
at the top of their demands the release of some of their own who remain there, Guantanamo
is not only still open, it may well having many more birthdays, holding
“guests” that had nothing to do with September 11, 2001.
It also happens that in this
election year - actually on December 31, 2011 - Obama showed no hesitation signing
a law that prohibiting the use of military funds for the transfer or
repatriation of those detained at Guantánamo, even if innocent. In other words,
Obama has accepted the fact that there are detainees at Guantánamo who will be
there indefinitely and without trial, which has led Andrea Prasow,
counsel with the Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program at Human Rights Watch,
to make a significant comment: “Now Guantanamo's unlimited
perpetuation has been signed into law.” [translated quote].
