What should be done about Guantanamo Bay?

[Cyndalie]

A few facts:

The Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp is a controversial[1] United States detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantánamo since 2002 in Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, which is on the shore of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

From the 1970s onwards, the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted on the high seas.

Since October 7, 2001, when the current war in Afghanistan began, 775 detainees have been brought to Guantánamo. Of these, approximately 420 have been released without charge, with only one prisoner, David Hicks, being convicted of a crime.

As of May 2008, approximately 270 detainees remain.[10] More than a fifth are cleared for release but may have to wait months or years because U.S. officials are finding it increasingly difficult to persuade countries to accept them.

Of those still incarcerated, U.S. officials said they intend to eventually put 60 to 80 on trial and free the rest.

____

When we went to war in Afghanistan to try to find Osama Bin Laden and free the people from Taliban rule, these detainees were basically jihadists with no home country or cause. They were fighters to who ever would train and provide for them. For almost 8 years many have been held without trial or even accused of any crime.

Accusations of abuse (such as defacing the Qur'an) have been rampant. These detainees are still considered prisoners of war, but no country wants these people back so getting releasing them is just as much of a problem as keeping them. They have no rights, and many organizations such as Amnesty International have stood up for the human rights of these detainees.

So do we let them go, release them back to who ever will allow them into their countries, only for them to become terrorists again with more anger against the US than ever? Have we created some of our own worst enemies? Do you think this debacle (taking prisoners with no end in sight) is indicative of how the Bush Administration has run the war? Has Guantanamo Bay tarnished the U.S. traditions of liberty and justice and fair trial?

Obama plans to shut Guantanamo Bay down. Should the detainees be tried using a new US court system for these detainees - some where in between military courts and standard trials, or should they be tried as criminals in the US? Should they just be returned to the countries they were detained from and left for them to handle? Or should they be distributed around the world and resettled into other countries?
Or should we keep Guantanamo Bay open?

[Crak_JMan]

A resort ;-)

[Magnus3x]

Originally Posted by Cyndalie

Should the detainees be tried using a new US court system for these detainees - some where in between military courts and standard trials.
Or should we keep Guantanamo Bay open?

IMO, they have already done this, some are truly guilty, some guilty by association and others.. well no one will ever know for certain if they are guilty or just being held due to a dragnet.

I doubt anyone will shut it down and just let the people go because they want to and know one will take em. I'm sure Syria would take em.

[Rochard]

US law doesn't apply here.

When your operating in the US Military in another country, US law doesn't apply. It never did and never will; It's replaced by the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

US law does not apply to these fuckers being held in Guantánamo Bay. These people were picked up in a country and detained by US forces for whatever reason - perfectly legal - and transported to a military base outside of the US for questioning and detention.

Bringing them to the US is the worse thing we can do - because then US law does apply, and that opens up a brand new can of worms.

[Evil Chris]

Originally Posted by Rochard

US law doesn't apply here.

When your operating in the US Military in another country, US law doesn't apply. It never did and never will; It's replaced by the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

US law does not apply to these fuckers being held in Guantánamo Bay. These people were picked up in a country and detained by US forces for whatever reason - perfectly legal - and transported to a military base outside of the US for questioning and detention.

Bringing them to the US is the worse thing we can do - because then US law does apply, and that opens up a brand new can of worms.

You sure about your facts there about the application of law, and what's "perfectly legal"?

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by Evil Chris

You sure about your facts there about the application of law, and what's "perfectly legal"?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

The US military travels all around the world, and US law doesn't not apply to them when they are at a port of call or stationed, say, in London. To get around this, the US military has what's called the Uniform Code of Military Justice ( or the UCMJ for short ). The UCMJ applies to all military personnel at all times, no matter where they are - In another country, on a US military base, or at a local pub in town.

Any crime that takes place on a US military base no matter where it is, is handled by the military and not civilian law enforcement. If a US Marine kills a US Marine on a US base, the NIS deals with it - not local law enforcement. If a US Marine kills a US Marine in a private residence off base or a public place off base, it's dealt with by local law enforcement - and then after wards the US Military may press further charges with the UCMJ.

So thus, anything that happens on a US military base is ruled by UCMJ, not any local, state, or federal laws. Furthermore, the UCMJ does not apply to civilians or prisoners. You cannot enforce the UCMJ on "anyone at any time", but only members of the US military who have agreed to come under it's ruling.

These prisoners in Cuba are in a no man's land. US Federal law doesn't apply; They aren't within the United States. The UCMJ might have some rules / laws about handling prisoners, but not anything about charging them.

On top of this, it seems we are willing to let some of them go, but no one is willing to allow them back in their country.

[B O B]

take all the tube site owners with illegal content, take all the content thieves, take all the people who are idiots (ill be the judge) and put them there...

then blow it up
start over with a nice JMan and B O B family surf and Ostridge riding camp

[Evil Chris]

I won't say if you're right or wrong about those laws, Roch.
Much of it is likely correct. I do know however, that in the Canadian military, when a soldier commits a crime, they are tried inside the military system with the exception of the crimes of murder and rape. Those get handled by the regular legal process.