The Cloudy Future of Guantanamo Bay

The Cloudy Future of Guantanamo Bay

On Friday, November 14, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) conducted a fact-finding mission at Guantanamo Bay, “to review detainee facilities and detention operations, the legal status of individual detainees, and the military commissions process that is used to try detainees.” The Senator was joined by a bipartisan group of six other legislators.

Following the mission, Senator Manchin released a statement concerning the military prison:

“The troops stationed at Guantanamo Bay guarding and protecting the prisoners who have tried to do harm to Americans are serving with excellence and distinction, and should be a model for prisons around the world. The fact remains, however, that the detention center at Guantanamo Bay does not make us safer, and it is wildly expensive. I believe that Congress must debate what we do with the prisoners currently being housed there. The status quo is not an acceptable solution, and I am confident we can find a solution that protects Americans and responsibly manages our tax dollars. I look forward to this debate.”

Guantanamo Bay, which is located off the coast of Cuba, has been in operation since 2002. Currently, 150 detainees remain. In 2009, President Obama unsuccessfully tried to close the facilities. (Read his executive order). Earlier this year, five Taliban terrorists were released from Guantanamo in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier who had been captured by the Taliban.

On October 30, Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) requested that President Obama “suspend any further Guantanamo detainee transfers at least until a thorough review can be conducted to better understand how many former Guantanamo detainees have joined ISIS and to determine what steps are necessary to prevent such an outcome in the future.” (Read her full letter).

Weigh in on bills related to Guantanamo Bay, and we’ll deliver your message to Congress, guarantee!

• Guantanamo Bay Detainee Transfer Suspension Act (S 2510)

  (And HR 4938 in the House) According to the bill sponsor, “Following the controversial prisoner swap the Obama Administration made earlier this month, resulting in the release of the Taliban 5 terrorists, further releases should be off the table until President Obama can explain how this swap was in the United States’ national security interests…Specifically, the bill will prohibit any funds from being spent on transferring or releasing Guantanamo detainees until either 90 days after submitting a report to Congress that justifies the release of the Taliban 5, or 180 days after this bill is signed into law.”

• A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate on the May 31, 2014, transfer of five detainees from the detention facility at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (SRes 469)

  According to the bill sponsor, “The resolution states that President Obama violated the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 when he transferred these dangerous detainees to Qatar. It also calls upon Congress to investigate why the Obama administration ignored congressional legislation restricting the President’s authority to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay and to examine both the impact of the transfer of these individuals on our national security and ways to mitigate it.”

• HRes 644

  Condemning and disapproving of the failure of the Obama administration to comply with the lawful statutory requirement to notify Congress before transferring individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and expressing concern about the national security risks over the transfer of five Taliban leaders and the repercussions of negotiating with terrorists.

Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system.