The Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is a beautiful place with sunny sky, unfortunately, tourists cannot get close to its turquoise waters, and the people living there have no chance to enjoy the coastal scenery either, because they are detained there as prisoners.
In Guantanamo Bay, there is a US military base, including a court martial and a prison in which the United States keeps suspected Al-Qa'ida and Taliban militants, captured in Afghanistan.
In 2004, following the torture and abuse of prisoners of war by US forces and the 'hunger strike' by these prisons came to light, the mysterious veil of the secrecy of this US base was gradually lifted. Guantanamo has become a familiar name to the world community.
Inhumane Plight
Pictures showing prisoners' heads pressed hard into the water until nearly suffocated; ear-piercing noises lingering over long period of time; dazzling lights on eyes over long period of exposure; cold encroaching upon the naked body; prolonged standing; kicked; beaten; rolled-up body in small box confinement....These are the inhumane plight that happened inside the Guantanamo prison.
But this Guantanamo detention camp is but the 'hot potato' President Barack Obama inherited from his predecessor George W. Bush. President Obama has promised that, within a year, he will close down the Guantanamo detention camp. But the Obama administration does encounter challenges to do so. This includes the problem of how the US Government will resettle these prisoners of war and how the US Government can transfer this 'illegal interrogation place' to a place where each and every section of the law will be applied in the 'legal' court trials.
A majority of the Americans are not in favor of shifting these prisoners to the US territory, fearing such a move might give the prisoners of war more power to appeal and that this might also strengthen the power and influence of these ‘errorist suspects.’
US Counterterrorism Strategy
However, time has proven that the US counterterrorism strategy of returning violence with violence is not a feasible strategy to curb growth of terrorism. They begin to wonder if the use of severe torture measures on suspected terrorists can really bring positive result to protect the United States. But as long as the problem relating to the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison is not solved, it will continue to poke the nerve of the Americans.
Only two months are left before we will enter 2010. We hope President Obama, who has been selected for the Nobel Peace Prize, can do something positive to resolve the issue relating to the prisoners detained by the United States. President Osama must honor his promise that he will make effort to bring peace to the world and to prove that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded is truly what he deserves. This will help the United States to rebuild positive US image in the eyes of the world community. This will also clear the insult of 'People hate you' image in the eyes of a little boy
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