Should We Close our Military Prison at Guantanamo?

A friend and I got into a discussion the other night about our military prison in Guantanamo Bay.  He was outraged at the idea that the detainees were on American soil without having the rights and benefits of a detained suspect in our criminal courts.  Ah, where does one start.  Perhaps with this week’s news from the BBC in Iraq:  “Guantanamo Man' in Iraq bombing.”  It seems one Mr. Abdullah al-Ajmi, a former guest at our facilities in Guantanamo Bay took part in a suicide bomb attack in Mosul that killed several members of the Iraqi security forces on April 29.  Abdullah al-Ajmi had been in U.S. custody in Gitmo and because he was a Kuwaiti, the U.S. transferred him to Kuwait in 2005 where he was acquitted of terrorist charges.  More than 80 prisoners have been transferred to other countries, and over 200 have been released.

According to reports, Abdullah al-Ajmi and two alleged accomplices obtained new passports before going to Mosul through Syria.  Once in Iraq, the trio detonated two car bombs that killed the several members of the Iraqi security forces.

The ACLU  and an battalion of defense lawyers tried to make the case that these military combatants should be tried as criminals in the U.S. courts.  Apparently the Supreme Court cringed at the idea of seeing 400 O.J. style trials, so in a 6-3 decision they gave the U.S. Military Tribunals sole jurisdiction at this time.   

What exactly would the three presidential candidates do about our military prison in Guantanamo is unclear, but if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton get into office, they are pledging to bring the troops home, so presumedly the prison at Gitmo would no longer be necessary.

Questions:

If the war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues, what should be done with the 400+ prisoners in Guantanamo?

If we withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, will the prisoners simply be released?

Do Military Tribunals provide adequate justice for detainees?
Should we close the prison at Gitmo and move it to Iraq or the Middle-East?

What will John McCain do with Gitmo if he is elected President?

What would Hillary or Obama do if elected?

Comments

[Rook]

Those prisoners that have cooperated and provided useful information should be transferred to the custody of the Iraqi government. The hardliners should be retained in our custody until they become cooperative or the war ends, whichever comes first.
If we withdraw, the prisoners should all be transferred to the custody of the respective government, Afghan or Iraqi.
The military tribunals do provide adequate justice. Remember, these are NOT U.S. citizens and have no constitutional rights.
We should not close Gitmo until we have no further need.
McCain will keep the status quo with the exception of "enhanced" interrogation, which he will stop.
Hillary would transfer the prisoners to Iraq or Afghanistan, but they would remain in U.S. custody.
Obama would repatriate the prisoners to their native country and we could expect to see most return to active terrorism.

[JM]

There is a large segment of the American people who has a hard time understanding that these guys are prisoners of war who are out of uniform. We had many German POWs imprisoned in the states during World War II, and I don't recall anyone wanting to provide them with access to the American justice system.

[bogey]

No it should not be closed. They should all face a military trial and if found guilty should be punished according to the severity of their offense. Men who don't wear a uniform are not soldiers, they're terrorists and not subject to conditions of the Geneva Convention. Period.

[Kate]

I don't think we need to close the prison, but on the other hand we shouldn't be torturing them either. Even John McCain agrees with the two democratic candidates on that point.

[imglc1]

Continued war & current prisoners: Status quo for the existing system.

Withdrawal: Transfer to custody of governments in the areas they were seized at.

Tribunals: Very adequate. I base this on what I’ve learned about the Gitmo process and my personal history with the military judicial system. People might be surprised to learn that besides career JAG officers and JAG officers serving out their enlistments the military has a wealth of JAG reservists who bring well-honed knowledge and experience from both sides of the criminal fence as well as civil matters. Experienced attorneys and experienced judges can be found making excellent contributions to the JAG system through their reserve duties. I don’t believe the military judicial system should ever be sold short.

Close Gitmo: It should not be closed and moved. Moving it to Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other Middle Eastern locale would make it a target for terrorists and require too large a garrison(s) to protect it (or them).

McCain: Continue but probably authorize more PR work to show it’s not Kafka’s Penal Colony.

Hillary: Continue with it but let it die a natural death through attrition as quickly as she could.

Obama: Cut and run and propose closing Gitmo in its entirety. If he has sole call on it he’d turn Gitmo over Cuba and create another Cam Ranh Bay in the Western Hemisphere