Chapter Two: Literature Review
The creation of Guantanamo Bay served the multiple purposes to detain suspected terrorist, to collect probable Intelligence, and to protect citizens from possible further terrorist attacks perpetrated by the detained individuals. The creation of the GTMO detention facilities were born out a perceived necessity to strengthen the United States’ national security after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. However, throughout Guantanamo Bay’s duration as a strategic level detention facility GTMO has fallen under vast amounts of criticism levied from all corners of the world. With the imminent closure of the detention centers at Guantanamo Bay, the closure underlines the bigger issue that a legal alternative
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In fact, the day before the terrorist attacks, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld gave a speech at the Pentagon detailing that bureaucracy, at the Pentagon, posed a serious threat to the security of the United States, and officials had proposed to transform the department, in order to find cheap alternatives to function better by outsourcing commercially (Zelizer, 2009). However, after the attacks occurred President Bush viewed them as a declaration of war, and leaped over the judicial process to push for the Global War on Terror. This approach included the construction of GTMO, and other detention facilities. The impact of 9/11 forced intelligence agencies to focus on better understanding human intelligence (Homeland Security, 2015). The approach also forced Americans to go directly from a false sense of security, to a hair-trigger alertness. Immediately after the attacks, the general public highly supported any and all action against terrorist groups suspected to be al-Qaeda (Yoo, 2011). This included detention facilities, such as those at Guantanamo Bay, which held hundreds of suspected terrorists, in order to superficially strengthen the U.S. national security initiative, and to prevent further terrorist attacks. The impact of opening and maintaining Guantanamo Bay, meant that terrorists could be captured, and subsequently punished, while also serving as a means to gather human intelligence on possible
Through the social contract theory comes, The Guantanamo Bay. This prison was established in 1898 when the United States took control of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. After September 11, 2001, the government knew that the “war on terror” between the United States and terrorists would not be good. Therefore, they took a new measures. Since early 2002, a part of the prison has imprisoned a small group of detainment camps for the Al Qaeda and the Taliban combatants who were captured by the AMerican military post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and
Did you know, as American taxpayers, maintaining the prison at Guantánamo has costed $4.8 billion since it had opened in 2002? Well this al back to “ The Global War on Terror” under the Bush administration that,. response to the 9/11 attacks, targeted middle eastern regions of the world;, collecting men from left to right by heavily armed American soldiers. Unfortunately, some of them are destined to pay for another man’s crime by serving time in Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay, located within a naval base in Cuba, became a facility purposed to hold alleged enemy combatants and terrorists alike. Because of later documented injustices reported against detainees, it gained negative spotlight by both citizens and world leaders. When Obama succeeded in presidency, closing the facility became one of his priorities for a number of reasons.
On U.S. territory and the government argues that they therefore have neither constitutional rights nor the rights guaranteed under the Geneva Convention, the international treaty governing detention during wartime. Basic principles like due process,
The United States military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been occupied by over 700 Middle Eastern men suspected of terrorism since 2002. It has been home to some of the most heinous suspected terrorist to ever walk on this Earth. What to do with this military base, has been a major source of conflict within our nation and with other nations for over a decade, with no real reasoning substantial enough to close the base. Although our government has come forward and declared that interrogation methods used on some of the detainees has been unethical and has broken some United States laws. But closing Guantanamo Bay is a task that should not be pursued, because it causes more problems to our countries people, our diplomatic and
Prior to 9/11there had been various terrorist attacks on Americans around the world and on American soil. However the events of September 11 intensely changed the United States Government’s approach towards terrorism. After September 11, the Bush Administration changed the previous American approach, which had primarily employed the combined tools of diplomatic cooperation, economic sanctions, and internationally coordinated law enforcement measures (Lee 2007: 137). Instead, the President declared in the aftermath of September 11 that the United States was engaged in a war on terrorism. In this war all terrorists who plotted against the United States and those who supported them were subject to American justice. This new
Our nation’s actions toward seeking justice and preventing any attacks of this scale from happening again came with quick notion, “Less than a week later (following the 9/11 attacks), Congress authorized the President to use military force ‘against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks,” (Yin). In essence, Congress gave the president the ability to use the military to seek out and detain terrorists responsible for 9/11, showing our country’s dedication to ending these attacks and those who initiated them for good. Overall, this tragic event revealed the need for stricter defense regulations against non-state actors (terrorists). For this reason, 9/11 was the catalyst for the beginning of the War on Terror and, consequently, the opening of Guantanamo Bay.
On September 11, 2001, the world as Americans where familiar with changed forever. As one of the world’s great super power nations Americans were sure that no one would ever raise a hand against them. Even before that day attacks made on American were small, or thwarted, or the culprits were quickly named and brought to justice. The terrorists who attacked American that day changed the game book, changed the way Americans felt about their safety and began a war that has no real face, no easily identifiable agenda, and no quick ending in sight. To protect the country President George W. Bush signed into law the Patriot Act and help create the office of Homeland Security. Guantanamo Bay was deemed the place to hold those arrested for
There are people trying to harm us. With the intent to destroy a powerful nation like our home, the United States of America. In September 11,2001 four commercial airplanes were hijacked by terrorists. The result was hundredths of lives lost and a trauma to the security of the United States. The US government opened a detainment center of the coast of Cuba called Guantanamo Bay. Recently it has been brought out that it should be shut down for the reason being that it is a waste of time and money. There are two major considerations on the debate of Guantanamo future. The first is whether keeping the facility open the best way for the US government to protect the American people. Closing Guantanamo bay and relocating is very risky. It will bring more expenses and make tax go up. Highly complex challenges on how to keep it safe and untouchable from the outside will have to be
This paper will explore three separate cases, providing facts about the apprehension and detention of enemy combatants, assessing the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and will explain whether any rights were denied or granted in contrast with each other. Anyone engaging in aggressive or hostile behavior towards a country is held to several political and constitutional legalities as explored in the three following cases.
When the news of torture at Abu Ghraib prison broke in early 2004 during the “global war on terror,” much of the public was outraged and did not know how to react. Heavy debate began over the issue and media reporters on the issues took sides. Many books were written about the subject. The conservatives attempted to downsize the issues and take the side that it was simply ‘bored’ and ‘tense’ soldiers trying to blow off a little steam with horseplay. However, the photographs that surface said quite differently. Naked photographs of prisoners engaged in simulated sexual acts, deceased prisoners in sexual poses and prisoners tied up and left for dead tell the chilling story of the terror and torture behind the prison walls. Did the US do
For most service members, the difficulties of deployments can include the operational tempo, uncertainty of the next mission, the fear of the unknown or the constant changes and frustrations of operational security. While we all deal with those obstacles, most Joint Task Force Guantanamo Troopers will say the biggest adjustment to deal with is being away from family members.
The Guantanamo Bay seems to be a very interesting but historical place. For years it has changed and became what it is today. It is used as a military base, and it's one of the oldest ones. The base has been open since 1903 and was used as multiple things throughout the years. Guantanamo bay is the oldest historical military base located in Cuba.
Alcatraz Island, located off the coast of San Francisco, California, is the home of the first lighthouse, the first United States fort in the Pacific Ocean, and above all home to the infamous Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Alcatraz prison housed some of the most dangerous criminals in American history. Such inmates include Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly and Robert Stroud. Since it’s closing in 1963, Alcatraz has attracted much attention as people wondered about the mysteries that lie on the island. Today, the public can take an interactive tour and get a hands-on experience of what life was like on “the rock.”
On May 9, 2005, Michael Isikoff and John Barry, two seasoned reporters for Newsweek, published a story about the interrogations and imprisonment of suspected terrorists in the aftermath of the Al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 that left Americans in shock and mourning for the many lives that were lost. The suspected terrorists were detained in what became a controversial military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Isikoff and Barry described the culturally insensitive interrogation methods that were conducted at Guantanamo Bay by the American military. They described the soldiers desecrating the Koran, the Moslem holy book, which they placed on toilets and even one time flushed down the toilet. The information for this story was
Guantanamo Bay, though started with good intentions, only highlights America’s negative side. Marine Major General Michael Lehnert, who played a significant role in the opening of Guantanamo, has drastically changed his opinion and said that it, “Validates every negative perception of the U.S.” (Sutton 1). One example of this occurred in 2006, when President Bush justified the use of “physical coercion” (torture) during interrogations (Fetini 1). Some of these torture methods include isolation, beatings, sleep deprivation, and general abuse. Other tactics such as disrespect for Islamic symbols or sexual provocation are used to encourage stress in detainees (Bloche 1). These immoral methods led to an international outcry. It was later remarked that the Cuban territory upon which Guantanamo is located is being used as a “concentration camp” of sorts (Fetini 1). Guantanamo and its unethical values are being recognized by nations around the world, displaying America in a bad light.