No easy way for Obama to deliver on vow to close Guantanamo

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama’s unfulfilled promise to close Guantanamo Bay is a lesson in how soaring campaign vows can wilt in the partisan stew and entrenched obstructionism of US politics.

Stalled efforts to close the prison camp for “war on terror” suspects also reflect the intricate homeland security state built by ex-president George W Bush, which endures even as memories fade of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The US base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba accepted its first prisoners from the battlefields of the so-called global war on terror on January 11, 2002.

A decade on, 171 prisoners remain, most in legal limbo, some awaiting transfer abroad. At least 40 may never face justice but are deemed too dangerous ever to be freed.

Seeing Guantanamo as a stain on America’s image, a rebuke to its founding values and a “recruiting tool” for al-qaeda, Obama, in the first frenetic hours of his presidency in January 2009, ordered the facility closed within a year.

A few months later Obama declared: “As president, I refuse to allow this problem to fester. Our security interests won’t permit it. Our courts won’t allow it. And neither should our conscience.”

But the rookie commanderin-chief learnt the limits of presidential power, struggling to establish a new legal system to process suspects as it became clear that Congress did not share his enthusiasm for closing Guantanamo.

Legislators of both parties opposed bringing Guantanamo inmates to their own districts for trial or detention. And Congress repeatedly limited funding to transfer any inmates to the US mainland.

An outcry forced the administration to abandon plans to use the civil legal system in New York to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

Mohammed and co-conspirators will now face military tribunals in Guantanamo.

In March 2011, in a nod to political realities, Obama signed an executive order allowing retooled military commissions at Guantanamo to try inmates for war crimes.

He ruled that inmates held indefinitely should be granted periodic reviews and pledged to uphold international standards on detention.

But critics say Obama has prolonged Guantanamo’s life.

“Guantanamo remains a potent symbol of injustice,” said Elisa Massimino, the pres- ident and chief executive of Human Rights First.

“Violations of the Geneva Conventions at Guantanamo have marked it around the globe as a symbol of a great nation setting aside its laws and values for the sake of expediency.”

Aides say Obama remains deeply committed to closing Guantanamo.

But there is no obvious political route to closing it, and as he seeks re-election, Obama may perhaps steer clear of such an intractable issue.

Guantanamo’s longevity also shows the tenacity of the homeland security structure laid down by Bush, which included Guantanamo, battlefield swoops for terror suspects and expanded surveillance.

“The politics surrounding Guantanamo are… toxic, but this underscores the need for leadership from the top,” Massimino said. “Political space is never ceded without leadership and a fight.” – SAPA-AFP