Gitmo blockage

The people of the U.S.A. have had a mental blockage regarding the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Over these past years, we have all known something is wrong with putting prisoners on foreign soil to keep them away from American Justice. But we have been immobileized from action or serious uproar.

Now after Bush and Congress are at their lowest public ratings, people from all over, including Bush, are taking action. We have been slow as molasses.

For this shame, history will judge us badly. But I bet we will repeat the actions again when we feel threatened in the future. Again under pressure we will default to reasoning that our leaders know best, especially in times of shooting. That default is something deep inside us which surfaces with stress, and practically allows quick action in turbulent times. As such the leaders deserve most of the future blame game.

But for now we are quiet still, not knowing how to explain ourselves in the light of day.

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Senior administration officials said Thursday a consensus is building for a proposal to shut the center and transfer detainees to one or more Defense Department facilities, including the maximum-security military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where they could face trial.

Cheney's office and the Justice Department have been against the step, arguing that moving "unlawful" enemy combatant suspects to the U.S. would give them undeserved legal rights.

Rice has said she would like to see Guantanamo closed if a safe alternative could be found. She said during a trip to Spain this month that the United States "doesn't have any desire to be the world's jailer." "I don't think anyone wants to see Guantanamo open one day longer than it is needed. But I also suspect nobody wants to see a number of dangerous people simply released out onto the streets," she said.

On Thursday, two Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida and Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, told a human rights commission that Guantanamo must be closed if the United States is to regain credibility and authority on human rights.

"The damage done to the United States goes beyond undermining our status as a global leader on human rights," Cardin said. "Our policies and practices regarding Guantanamo and other aspects of our detainee policies have undermined our authority to engage in the effective counterterrorism measures that are necessary for the very security of this country."

Earlier this month, former Secretary of State Colin Powell called for the immediate closure of the prison, saying it posed an untenable foreign policy risk and was irreparably harming the U.S. image abroad.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said in statement that "removing the stain Guantanamo has left on our foreign policy" is long overdue. "It also goes a long way toward returning America's moral authority in the world and addressing the mistakes which have set us back in the fight against terrorism," said Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential candidate.