Guantanamo Bay: Should It Remain Open? On September 11th, the 19 radical Islamic terrorists attacked the United States. 2,996 lives were lost, including the 19 hijackers responsible for such these heinous attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and those lost on Flight 93 (Cucullu, 2009). Since then, a variety of measures have been taken in the ongoing “War on Terror” to prevent such an attack from ever occurring again. In the fight against terrorism, the United States of America has pulled out nearly every weapon in their arsenal to defend their citizens, occasionally crossing the thin line between morality and national security. One such case is that of Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay is a US-operated detention facility that predominately …show more content…
Those detained at Guantanamo Bay are no ordinary prisoners, as their “enemy combatant” status exempts them from the rules established by the Geneva Convention (Military Commissions Act). In other words, these prisoners are subject to indefinite detainment as well as torture and other extraordinary interrogation techniques (Military Commissions Act). Many find it ironic that a nation that is called “the greatest country on Earth,” or, “the leader of the free world,” would engage in practices such as this. Amnesty International, a special interest group that fights for the rights of prisoners, has this to say on Guantanamo Bay: “The facilities at Guantánamo have become emblematic of the gross human rights abuses perpetrated by the US government in the name of terrorism,” (Military Commissions Act). In reality, the US government has created an exemption regarding the treatment of prisoners of war that is specific to the War on Terror. Previously, those captured during US military combat missions were subject to conditions similar to that in which domestic prisoners are. Like many traditions in the United States, this changed drastically after 9/11. Some may say, however, that this change was