This journal has repeatedly said that the prison at Guantanamo is no better than an American gulag, a violation of everything America values and an institutionalized war crime. The Bush administration foisted this on a fearful nation, and the continued existence of the prison is the biggest failing of the Obama administration.
Early in his administration, President Obama tried to move the inmates to a maximum security prison in Illinois, but Congress blocked the transfer. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said at the time, “there is wide, bipartisan opposition in Congress to the president’s goal of moving those terrorists to American cities and towns.” Unfortunately, leaving the place open has provided Al Qaeda and its fellow travelers a major recruiting argument.
Mr. Obama is likely to try again because 100 of the 166 inmates held at Guantanamo are on hunger strike. Of that number, 21 are being force fed via nasal tubes. By most reasonable standards, that is torture. “I don’t want these individuals to die,” Mr. Obama said. If he doesn’t get something done soon, though, some of them might just do that.
The truth is that the administration took its eye of the ball. The New York Times notes
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Howard P. McKeon, Republican of California, noted that the Obama administration had never exercised the power it has had since in 2012 to waive, on a case-by-case basis, most of the restrictions lawmakers have imposed on transferring detainees to countries with troubled security conditions.
‘For the past two years, our committee has worked with our Senate counterparts to ensure that the certifications necessary to transfer detainees overseas are reasonable,’ Mr. McKeon said. ‘The administration has never certified a single transfer.’
As they sang at Bannockburn, nows the day and nows the hour, This journal is proud of having supported the Obama administration in its efforts for America and the world. However, a friend who fails to tell the truth about one’s shortcomings, though is no true friend. Mr. Obama, Guantanamo is a blot on America’s reputation. It needs to be closed.