Guantanamo Bay

1. Guantanamo Bay Elizabeth Stulpin Period 10

2. Background • First created in 1898 after the United States took control of Cuba from Spain after the Spanish-American • On February 16,1903, leased through the Platt Amendment for 2,000 gold coins a year as a coaling and naval station • Lease updated on July 2, 1906 to make the annual lease amount $2,000.00. (checks from U.S. never cashed by Cuba)

3. Background cont. • New lease in 1934 signed by Roosevelt that included Fulgencio Batista along with Bahía Honda and Guantánamo Bay • In 1993, came under criticism for segregating HIV positive Haitian refugees in unsanitary and crowded Camp Bulkeley • In 1996, Operation Marathon used to house 120 Chinese migrants who had attempted to illegally migrate to the United States by sea

4. Background again • Approximately 800 individuals have been detained over the last 7 years for being enemy combatants • More than 500 have been released as of now • Most detainees have been there for at least 4 years with many being held for over 6 years • Currently 240 detainees within the detention center

5. Problems

6. Torture Allegations • Center for Constitutional Rights published a report in 2006 outlining Guantanamo torture techniques • Psychological torture • Solitary confinement, light and sound manipulation, temperature extremes, sleep deprivation, threats of transfer to other countries for torture • Physical abuse • Physical beatings, short shackling and stress positions, Immediate Reaction Force (IRF) which serves as a riot squad and disciplinary force • US Department of Justice memos released in April reveal that Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in one month. • Medical Abuse • Use of doctors to tell confidential information to interrogators, withholding medical care, unnecessary medical procedures, Behavioral Science Consultation Team (a group of psychiatrists) developed extreme interrogation techniques • Sexual Abuse / Harassment • Sexual provocations by female interrogators, rape, harassment • Religious Abuse • Purposeful desecration of the Qur’an (the cause of a mass suicide attempt in 2003), interference with religious practices (prayer), religious humiliation

7. Torture Cont. • In 2003 alone, the alleged torture was the cause of 350 acts of self-harm • Has caused international outrage from many countries, who want the closing of Guantanamo Bay • Human rights groups are appalled by the allegations and attempt to influence legislation to end torture techniques • However, a recent GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media poll found that 52 percent of Americans believe that torture is often justified to obtain information

8. Return of Detainees • A recent report filed by the Pentagon has concluded that among the more than 530 detainees released from Guantanamo Bay, many re-engaged in terrorism or militant activities • About one in seven (or 14%) were calculated as being dangerous to international security after being relocated • 27 were confirmed as having re-engaged in terrorist or militant activity and 47 were suspected of doing so

9. Uighurs • There are currently 17 Uighurs, who are minority Muslims from north-western China, detained at Guantanamo Bay • They have all been cleared of terrorism charges • Do not want to return to China for fear of torture by their countrymen • Are proving to be very hard to place in other countries since they previously attended terrorist camps in Afghanistan • In 2006, Albania accepted five Uighur detainees from Guantanamo but will not take more for fear of diplomatic repercussions from China

10. Europe • Europe has consistently pushed the United States to close Guantanamo Bay • Obama wants European nations to take in approximately 50 to 60 current inmates • Can’t be returned to their home countries since they could face torture or their governments do not want them back • European nations are now reluctant to take in the prisoners for fear of their own national security • Thomas Silberhorn, a member of the German Parliament claims, "If the U.S. refuses to take these people, why should we?"

11. Europe cont. • Individual European countries are able to decide for themselves if they want to accept inmates within their borders • Due to the Schengen agreement, prisoners that are accepted into a country within the European Union can travel into any other without problems • The agreement gets rid of barriers between the 27 member countries within the European Union • Entry into one country would allow easy travel into many others

12. Canada • Canada refuses to accept any Guantanamo Bay detainees into their country • A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office refuses, saying "prisoners that have absolutely no connection to Canada will not be brought to Canada." • Makes one less place where Guantanamo Bay detainees can be relocated after leaving Cuba

13. South Carolina • Resolution passed unanimously by state House is now off to their Senate in an attempt to block detainees from being located to the U.S. Navy brig at Charleston • It urges "both the president of the United States and Congress … to refrain from locating or relocating in South Carolina individuals whom the federal government has classified as 'enemy combatants' … who is suspected of committing, conspiring to commit or attempting to commit an act of terror on United States soil or abroad." • Not in my backyard attitude (NIMBY)

14. Proposals

15. Obama’s Executive Order • Signed by President Obama on January 22, 2009 • Will review the facilities and all inmates that are currently being held on a rolling basis • Orders the closure of the detention center within one year from the date it was signed (January 22, 2010) • Detainees will be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third country, prosecuted, or transferred to another United States detention facility

16. Federal Court System • Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was brought to New York to be tried • Is the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to be tried in a United States civil court • Pleaded not guilty on June 9, 2009 to mass murder charges related to the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa (Tanzania and Kenya) • Helped kill 224 people, including 12 Americans • Also served as a bodyguard to al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden • Could face the death penalty if convicted on the multiple murder charges

17. Revamped Military Commissions • Obama plans to reinstate military tribunals for Guantanamo Bay inmates, but with revisions for their protection • Revisions will provide more rights to detainees • Will ban evidence obtained through "cruel, inhuman, or degrading" interrogation techniques, such as torture • Additional restrictions on the admissibility of hearsay evidence • Less restrictions on defendants, allowing them to choose their own counsel in trials • Protecting inmates from "adverse inference" if they choose not to testify at a trial

18. Indefinite Detention • There may be some detainees who are being held that are not able to be prosecuted for their crimes, yet still pose a considerable threat to the United States • Would include those who have received explosives training at al-Qaeda camps, commanded Taliban troops in battle, expressed their allegiance to Osama bin Laden or made it clear that they want to kill Americans • Obama said any system of detention "must have a thorough process of periodic review, so that any prolonged detention is carefully evaluated and justified.“ • Oversight could include annual or bi-annual reviews by a national security court in which the government's burden of proof to extend detention increases over time

19. Hardin, Montana • Hardin, Montana has offered to take some Guantanamo Bay detainees and hold them in their state of the art prison • Their $27 million dollar prison is empty • Hardin is in the poorest county in Montana, with an unemployment rate of over 10% • By filling their prison, they hope to create more jobs and stimulate their faltering economy • Local council voted unanimously for the idea

20. Petros, Tennessee • Morgan County Commissioner Nicholas Bishop has drafted a proposal to house Guantanamo Bay detainees 125 miles away from Chattanooga • Plan is to be presented on June 22 • Would use Brushy Mountain Prison • Was previously decommissioned by the state and is sitting idle at the taxpayers’ expense • Are hoping that it would create 600 –1,000 new jobs in the region and stimulate their economy

21. Europe • Several European countries have offered to accept current inmates into their countries • Including Spain, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Portugal • Albania, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom have accepted non-citizens in the past • Want to provide cleared detainees with international protection from prosecution in their home countries

22. Palau • Palau being looked at to accept 17 Uighur detainees • The archipelago of 20,000 citizens in the Philippines is talking with the U.S. government and negotiating the possible transfer • U.S. is possibly offering up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance to the country in return for accepting the Uighurs

23. Malaysia • Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is looking forward to the return of two Malaysian detainees • Held at Guantanamo since 2006 for assistance in terrorist acts • Mohd Farik Bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep are both “high – value detainees”

24. Tunisia • Tunisia's justice minister, Bechir Tekkari, stated that he would not turn away the 10 Tunisian detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay • Has not spoken with the Obama administration at this point to negotiate their return

25. Afghanistan • Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that his country is ready to take back all Afghan inmates and deal with their legal issues • The country is especially fighting for the release of Mohammad Jawad, who was arrested at the age of 12 in 2002 after a grenade attack that wounded two American soldiers • Claim his arrest was illegal due to his young age

26. Death Row Detainees • Are considering allowing death row detainees to plead guilty without a full trial • Could allow the five detainees who were involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to plead guilty • Would allow military prosecutors to avoid airing the details of interrogation techniques • According to Air Force Maj. David J. R. Frakt, a Guantanamo Bay defense lawyer, "They are trying to give the 9/11 guys what they want: Let them plead guilty and get the death penalty and not have to have a trial.”

27. Politics

28. Public Opinion • USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found that Americans are overwhelmingly against closing Guantanamo Bay • By 40%-18%, they said the prison had strengthened national security rather than weakened it • A 54% majority of those polled say the prison should remain open • By more than 3-1, they oppose moving some of the accused terrorists to prisons in their own states • “Not In My Back Yard” opinion

29. Senate • On May 20, a Senate vote of 90 – 6 rejected President Obama’s proposal of the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States and his $80 million budget to close the detention center • Bipartisan rejection of the plan • Insist on a concise plan that outlines what will be done with prisoners once they are released • Concerned about national security issues

30. Human Rights Groups • Consistently urge Obama and legislature to stop Guantanamo Bay proceedings, influence legislation and to close the camp as soon as possible • Are keeping a close watch on the progress surrounding Guantanamo Bay • Human Rights Watch, an independent agency, attempts to influence Guantanamo Bay decisions • Their “objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse” • Guantanamo Human Rights Commission • Human rights group committed to defending Islamic jihadists captured in battle in Afghanistan and being detained at Guantanamo Bay

31. Policy Window? • I believe that there is a policy window open for issues surrounding Guantanamo Bay • President Obama has declared that it must be closed by January 2010, but no one knows what to do with the current detainees • Plans need to be formed that outline the release policy of inmates, including how and where they will be tried, and how the closing of the detention center will be carried out • Need bipartisan support, as the Senate showed their power over an unpopular and hasty bill