Guantanamo and Security

Even before having a chance to sit down in the Oval Office, Barack Obama has been faced with the thorny issue of Guantanamo Bay and the prison created by George Bush for presumed Islamic terrorists. While Washington was still celebrating his inauguration, the new president asked for and obtained from military attorneys a suspension of the legal proceedings against detainees of the prison in Cuba until the 20th of May and began a reexamination of the military commissions system established by his predecessor.

Theoretically, this is the first step towards dismantling a controversial and hateful structure, the immediate consequence of rejecting the false choice “between our safety and our ideals,” as Obama announced in his inauguration speech. At the same time, White House experts have drawn up the executive order that will shut down the detention center. The president could even sign it today.

It is clear that the new administration is determined to fight terrorism while preserving the rule of law. The strategic purpose of this political intervention in the judicial field is to give back to ordinary courts the delicate issue of the war on terror, which the pervasive Bush and Cheney administration had removed from the ordinary justice system and the rule of law. By choosing to start this process by pausing for reflection and evaluating on a case-by-case basis, Obama shows his pragmatic and non-ideological approach.

The president was very clear a few days ago when he explained that Guantanamo prisoners must been tried with a process that adheres to rule of law but that “doesn’t result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.” The results of the reexamination should not be taken for granted, however. As the Washington Post writes, “it is also possible that the administration could reform and relocate the military commissions before resuming trials,” which means that detainees charged for war crimes may not be sent to federal or martial courts.

Even if most of the 250 prisoners are released and Guantanamo’s inhumane cages fall into disuse, it is not certain that the current hated system will be abolished. In fact, one of the options that Obama’s administration is considering is the creation of “national security courts,” where it would be possible to use evidence obtained in a coercive manner. Champions of human rights are worried, but Barack Obama does not want to run risks. As ex-president of the Harvard Law Review, he wants to defend habeas corpus. As United States president, however, he must defend his country’s security, whatever the cost.