Guantanamo Bay a black eye; shut it down

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5:54 PM Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Letter to the editor

Contrary to what some political pundits spout, the ACLU does not stand alone in calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Gen. David Petraeus, who oversaw operations at Guantanamo and led troops in Iraq, agreed with President Barack Obama’s decision to close it.

Detractors of Obama’s decision to close the Guantanamo detention facility raise claims that allowing these prisoners to be housed in the United States might pose a safety risk. However, the past record of successfully incarcerating convicted terrorists in the U.S. suggests that this concern is unfounded.

According to the Bureau of Prisons, terrorists currently housed on U.S. soil include some of the masterminds behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Many have been incarcerated for years without incident.

All of these men were tried in open court with constitutional protections, which has not been provided to the Guantanamo Bay detainees. The prisons where convicted terrorists would likely be held are super maximum-security facilities.

Guantanamo Bay has been a black eye on America’s long tradition of fairness and respect for the law. We must close the base in order to restore our most cherished constitutional protections.

Cara Greenberg

Yellow Springs

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