Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

The Obama administration has made it a point to reverse most everything the Bush administration established in the War on Terror, most importantly its policies on the treatment of “unlawful enemy combatants” as defined in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks. On his second full day in office, Obama signed an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay, a controversial detention center that is known for its harsh interrogation techniques and denial of habeus corpus rights (the fundamental right to a fair and just trial).

On January 11, 2002, the first 800 men were brought to Guantanamo Bay, mostly citizens of Pakistan and Afghanistan who were turned into the authorities for bounty. Only 5 percent of these men were captured on the battlefield, 8 percent identified as Al Qaeda, and 45 percent have ever engaged in a hostile act. One man was recently convicted because he was a hired cook for the Taliban.

In addition to closing Guantanamo Bay, the Obama administration signed an executive order to shut down all black sites world-wide. Black sites are secret interrogation sites set up by the C.I.A. and located in countries that will allow for quick relocation if their identities are revealed. The most important one is located in Poland, and there are others in places like Thailand and Bosnia. These sites were crucial in carrying out torture techniques as they are outside U.S. territory and thus legal jurisdiction.

In mid April of this year, the Obama administration made a controversial decision and under a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by the ACLU, released Bush administration memos and documents that cite in detail all interrogation methods used by the C.I.A. including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and a previously unknown tactic: to exploit one prisoners’ phobias, they planned to lock him in a box with insects. One Justice Department document disclosed that C.I.A. interrogators used waterboarding techniques 266 times on two Al Qaeda prisoners, and at least 83 times on one prisoner in a month.

After the release of these documents, many Democrats have called for further investigation and possible prosecution of the officials who called for and authorized the torture techniques. Obama, on the other hand, believes these officials cannot be prosecuted because they were told the techniques were legal before authorizing them.

Up until now, the brunt of the blame has been on the Republican Party and its knowledge and promotion of these controversial techniques. Obama labeled these times as “dark chapter in our nation’s history.” However, new information released today details that top Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bob Graham and Sen. John Rockefeller, were briefed on these tactics as well. Pelosi concedes that she was briefed, but only once in September of 2002. This is out of the 40 or more C.I.A. congressional briefings.

As the U.S. government continues to shift its policies in the War on Terror, human rights groups rejoice at what they deem just and necessary steps to reversing Bush administration policies. Many people see honesty and transparency as the best ways to proceed in the War on Terror. However, others worry about safety of the United States and its people as we contemplate moving Guantanamo Bay prisoners onto U.S. soil. What will the repercussions be of releasing memos outlining torture strategies? Many argue we are creating more enemies in the Middle East by broadcasting what we have done to their citizens. And, if the most powerful country in the world uses torture techniques, are we giving other countries grounds to justify torturing their own prisoners and possibly U.S. citizens? In the upcoming months, the Obama administration and congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, will need to look closely at their decisions, as the future of U.S. relations internationally rides on how we handle the War on Terror.

More Info

NYTimes: List Says Top Democrats Were Briefed on Interrogations

Fox News: The GOP Guantanamo Offensive

Alexandra Pope is a senior at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, majoring in political science and journalism.  She currently holds a job at an immigration law firm and is an Associate Producer on the “Youthanized” documentary.