Today marks 20 years since the opening of the military-prison-for-Muslim-men on the grounds of the American naval air station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Events to commemorate this were held all over the place; I participated at the one in New York City, masks a plenty in the omicron era.
Our friend Candace has some listing of commemorations here, and a new web-site from our friends at CAGE in honor of the occasion, here.
Our friend Andy, who would usually join us from London at this time of year, remains on the other side of the pond as a result of the COVID-45 plague, but he offers us his own set of commemorations… and this report of one that took place a few days ago.
Meanwhile, some welcome (we hope) developments, as Candace reports that the first detainee who had suffered a CIA black site has been cleared for release. Hope springs eternal. Maybe Joe will do what Barack couldn’t and close the damned thing down.
Fingers crossed. As Candace always says, hope dies last. But I’m seriously hoping that Joe Biden, the President with the temerity to absorb the bad optics of getting out of Afghanistan will be the one capable of finally, finally, ending this sorry chapter of our nation’s history.
UPDATE: In other “anniversary news,” the Biden Administration announced that five more detainees have been cleared for transfer, bringing that total to 19. As, by my count, 12 are charged by the military commissions, only about 8 remain mired in the “forever prisoner” category… including Candace’s client Saeed Bakhuche from Algeria, who had his periodic review board hearing today.
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For those interested in my GTMO/War on Terror interview series, links to all interviews can be found at the end of my interview with Sarah Mirk.
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