Here's the nut of the executive order Barack Obama released today
on Guantanamo Bay:
Sec. 3. Closure of Detention Facilities at Guantánamo. The
detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by
this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later
than 1 year from the date of this order. If any individuals
covered by this order remain in detention at Guantánamo at the
time of closure of those detention facilities, they shall be
returned to their home country, released, transferred to a
third country, or transferred to another United States
detention facility in a manner consistent with law and the
national security and foreign policy interests of the United
States.
The whole thing is available
here.
As I've noted
before, after Sept. 11 President Bush was confronted with an
unprecedented challenge when it came to devising a strategy to
fight terrorism. One thing the administration inevitably had to
grapple with was how to deal with detainees caught during this
ongoing war who do not respect the Geneva Conventions themselves.
President Obama is now determined to reverse many of Bush's
policies, and in this case, close Gitmo within a year. But
between now and then, difficult questions remain. Will these
prisoners be accepted by their home countries? What if a
prisoner's home country is one that engages in torture, does
sending him back violate the Obama administration's principles on
rendition? What third countries would accept these men? Will
Americans be comfortable with terrorists being held in their
neighborhoods? How do we try prisoners if releasing the evidence
we have against them could compromise our intelligence? And what
do we risk by simply releasing prisoners? If the new
administration can resolve these issues, close Gitmo within a
year, and do so without putting Americans in greater danger, then
I'd be happy to give Obama credit. But now that he's in power, we
no longer have to have a theoretical debate about this.
