Keeping Guantanamo at Bay

By Imola Unger


A video of a child soldier’s interrogation in Afghanistan leaked out and became available to the public last year, causing tremendous international uproar. With the global scale scandal preceding the actual trial of the now 22-year-old young man, Obama’s every move concerning the case was followed closely worldwide. Expectations regarding the conviction rose high: continuing with the military tribunals of the Bush doctrine would have discredited the President’s vows to liquidate questionable penitentiary institutions.

The previous administration’s lenience towards torture and the institutionalized disregarding of human rights was not left without international reaction. It became clear that significant measures would have to be taken by the US to regain its credence as a leading power. The most pressing issue remains, of course, the closing down of Guantanamo. The functioning of the penitentiary facility located in a US-supervised territory of Cuba has been called a “poisonous legacy” and alliance with the island state. Out of the 250-something detainees held in inhumane circumstances and subjected to frequent torture only a supposed 19 are actual terrorists. Ties to the home countries suffer as news of suicides and mental derangements reaches the media. The penal question being so closely related to the war on terror, the sensitive nature of the situation cannot be ignored.

President Obama is expected to implement the closing down of the facility both observing human rights and ensuring that national and international safety remain unthreatened. Not only would this require revolutionizing the legal procedure so far practiced with rogue criminals, but the question of relocation would also need to be addressed. Transporting the terrorists on US soil creates uneasy feelings among Americans and repatriation is not always an option. Part of the reason is the highly possible torture the detainees would face at their home countries; however, in some cases cooperation from the state of origin is lacking altogether.

The child soldier, whose trial has been suspended, was born in Toronto and was refused to be repatriated by Canada. Yemen, the mother country of the largest group of Guantanamo detainees (92) has not shown willingness to engage in dialog. It has to be considered that even if it did, it might not have the resources necessary for such an undertaking, as is the case with several other countries involved. The seriousness of the situation shows the extent of US unpopularity and the pressing need to remedy the wrongs before they escalate into international conflict. Some European countries have expressed willingness to assist the United States in imprisoning the transported detainees or accept released ones. A liberal think tank recommended the creation of an international resettlement program. As Newsweek suggests, “[t]he goodwill Obama has already generated in Europe and elsewhere will help. But the process will take time.”