[Printer Friendly Version]   [How to E-mail This Article to A Friend]

U.S. GOVERNMENT 2: Clinton Speaks About Guantanamo Bay

On June 20, 2005, former President Bill Clinton voiced his thoughts and opinions on the current situation at Guantanamo Bay. His words, from the Financial Times, express his distaste for the management and handling of the terrorist detention facility. In his interview, Clinton was quoted as saying that Guantanamo needs to “be closed down or cleaned up.”

Clinton believes that the terrorists have been handed a victory because of the improper use of torture techniques to extract information before sending suspects to trial. The debate and spark of controversy has given the terrorist suspects a human face to the world, and many around the globe have spoken out against the treatment occurring at the American operated military facility in Cuba.

Guantanamo Bay holds more than 500 prisoners of war from Afghanistan and Iraq. Many prisoners have been there for more than six months to a year, with more being shipped in every day from overseas.

President Bush has recently been quoted as saying that he is looking for alternative ways to detain potential suspects and hopes to come up with a better plan for dealing with the ever increasing need for space for detainees.

Since most of the prisoners being detained are classified as “unlawful enemy combatants,” they are not under the jurisdiction of the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention gives certain rights to prisoners classified as “prisoners of war.” However, in order to be classified as such, they must be prisoners from a legally declared conflict recognized by the world and the United Nations. Since America’s treks into Afghanistan and Iraq are not recognized by the international community, the detainees are being held as enemy combatants.

Enemy combatants are also not guaranteed the rights of United States law either, which leaves much grey area surrounding what can and cannot be done to detainees being held indefinitely. This has made the international community uneasy in the wake of the Guantanamo Bay scandals that have occurred over the last year.

--Written by Melissa Popp

Write your own story telling us what you think about this article!

Read U.S. Government 3: Biden Set to Run for President