In the Third Year

As Barack Obama reaches his third year in office, the fact that the prison camp at Guantanamo remains open is not to the president’s credit. Of all the reasons for its continued existence, CIA Director Leon Panetta insists that bin Laden would be housed there, should he ever be caught.

Few questioned the promises of Barack Obama right after he took office, including that the prison camp at Guantanamo would be closed within a year. Few at the time doubted his assurances or that he would accomplish this task. However, as we enter Obama’s third year in office, the end to Guantanamo is still nowhere in sight. This is due, at least in part, to Congress consistently fighting against a transfer of the leftover prisoners from Guantanamo into the United States.

The sad truth is that the government has no trace of an idea how to realistically deal with the camp and its inmates. Defense Secretary Gates has admitted to that point in a public hearing of the Senate. If this is the case, then, would the United States put bin Laden — should he be caught — in Guantanamo, as CIA Chief Panetta said?

Regardless of the likelihood of the al-Qaida leader’s capture, the political mind games that are played in his name — which Obama blames on Bush’s policies — speaks volumes. For the acting president, it isn’t a glorious chapter.