The US launched the global war on terror after the 9/11 attacks, and President George W. Bush sent the military to invade Afghanistan and hunt down members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Many individuals were captured and taken to secret prisons, where they were interrogated and tortured. In 2002, the US established a permanent prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of detainees were held without being charged with a crime.
The Bush administration created a new term, "unlawful enemy combatants," to justify holding detainees indefinitely without charges or trials. The US claimed that neither US law nor international law applied to these detainees, despite the Geneva Conventions protecting prisoners of war.
After Barack Obama took office, he signed an executive order to close Guantánamo within a year, but faced opposition from Republican politicians, who claimed that releasing detainees would make America more dangerous. The Obama administration ultimately failed to close the prison, and the number of detainees decreased only through transfers and deaths.
Donald Trump took office as a supporter of keeping Guantánamo open, and his administration transferred only one detainee in four years. Under President Biden, some detainees have been approved for transfer, but the prison remains open, with 10 detainees still stuck in the military court system. The Biden administration needs to transfer the remaining detainees and conclude trials for the 10 stuck in the system to close Guantánamo.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. President George W. Bush launched the global war on terror days after the 9/11 attacks.
2. In October 2001, Bush sent the military to invade Afghanistan and hunt down members of al-Qaeda and its ally, the Taliban.
3. The US offered cash rewards to anyone who would help capture a terrorist.
4. Many in Afghanistan and Pakistan took advantage of the offer and turned hundreds of men over to the US, often with little evidence.
5. The US sent those men to secret prisons called black sites, where they were interrogated and tortured.
6. In January 2002, the first detainees began arriving at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
7. Moath al-Alwi was one of the detainees who spent the next two decades in the prison without being charged with a crime.
8. Hundreds of men were imprisoned in Guantánamo, few were charged with a crime, some were tortured, and none received a fair trial.
9. The Bush administration chose Guantánamo Bay largely because of its unique location, which allowed them to claim that US law wouldn't apply to the detainees.
10. The US also claimed that international law didn't apply to these detainees, despite 196 countries, including the US, signing the Geneva Conventions.
11. By 2003, there were nearly 700 Guantánamo detainees, and virtually none of them were charged with a crime.
12. The Bush administration reviewed every case and set up a transfer process, transferring 532 detainees over a 5-year period.
13. Only 3 detainees were convicted through the military courts during this time.
14. 5 detainees died in the prison, with 4 reportedly suicides.
15. When Barack Obama took office, he signed an executive order to close Guantánamo within a year.
16. The Obama administration split the detainees into three groups and laid out a plan with more paths out.
17. However, Republican politicians fiercely opposed every aspect of the plan, and the Obama administration ultimately gave up on closing Guantánamo.
18. The only two options detainees had stayed in place but got much harder, with the military courts being extremely slow and ineffective.
19. In 2017, Donald Trump took office as a fervent supporter of keeping Guantánamo open, and his administration only transferred one detainee in four years.
20. In 2021, President Biden took office, and Moath al-Alwi was approved for transfer after being in Guantánamo for 19 years.
21. For Guantánamo to close, the Biden administration needs to transfer the last remaining detainees and conclude trials for the 10 who are currently stuck in the system.