An ethic attacked in the name of defence

Wednesday 11 January 2012 marked ten years since the ‘War On Terror’ began; ten years since the first 20 detainees were transferred to Guantanamo Bay, the US detention centre situated in Cuba. However, to my mind this date marks ten years since the US government exchanged human rights and justice for security, and an ostentatious show of vengeance.

At present 171 detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay despite President Obama’s claims in January 2009 that the camp would be shut down within twelve months. Three years on it remains open.

It goes without saying that shutting down an institution such as this is fraught with difficulties; one hurdle the Obama administration has had to face is the overpowering ‘not-in-my-backyard’ attitude held by the majority of North America.

In November 2009 it was announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four other men who were alleged to be behind the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in 2001, would be tried in a civilian court in New York. But the public are unprepared to allow this. Donald Rumsfeld, the-then Secretary of Defence, opposed what he labelled 'the worst of the worst' being transferred to US cities or tried in US penitentiaries. The case therefore bowed to political pressure and the men had to be moved back to Guantanamo to be tried in front of a military commission.

Furthermore, there are currently 89 detainees who have been cleared for release yet still remain in Guantanamo Bay, despite there being other countries willing to accept them. One such detainee is Shaker Aamer, a British citizen transferred a month after Guantanamo's opening who is being held illegally, regardless of the fact that the British government have been sheepishly attempting to get him back.

Post-9/11 America was more accepting of these methods, with the memory of attack still present in the public consciousness and fears of further attacks widespread. Yet if Obama is to succeed in obliterating the substantial legacy of his forerunner and coming to truly deserve his untimely Peace Prize, then Guantanamo Bay needs to close for good - and its tenth anniversary needs to be its last.