11 June 2009
White House Document on Obama’s Plan for Guantánamo Bay
Series of documents on issues central to Obama administration’s agenda
(begin text)
DELIVERING ON CHANGE: GUANTÁNAMO BAY
THE PRESIDENT ARRIVED FACING AN UNPRECEDENTED ARRAY OF CHALLENGES, AND HAS MET THEM WITH A BOLD, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. HE PASSED THE MOST AMBITIOUS RECOVERY PACKAGE IN HISTORY TO ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC CRISIS. HE KEPT FAITH WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THROUGH A GOVERNMENT THAT IS OPEN, TRANSPARENT, AND ACCOUNTABLE. AND HE RESTORED AMERICA’S ALLIANCES ABROAD, AS WELL AS OUR AMERICAN VALUES HERE AT HOME.
THIS IS FOURTH IN A SERIES OF DOCUMENTS THAT DESCRIBES ISSUES THAT ARE CENTRAL TO THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S AGENDA OF CHANGE. THEY CAN BE FOUND AT HTTP://WWW.WHITEHOUSE.GOV/ISSUES/.
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND GUANTÁNAMO BAY
On his second full day in office, President Obama signed presidential orders to close the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention facilities and revise interrogation policies, demonstrating his commitment to remain true to the values of the United States while continuing to vigorously defend the nation.
In his speech in Cairo, Egypt, on June 4th, President Obama noted, “And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter or forget our principles. Nine-eleven was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantánamo Bay closed by early next year. “
In Cairo, President Obama built upon themes he had earlier laid out during a May 21st speech at the National Archives in Washington, standing in front of America’s three “Charters of Freedom” - the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. The president said the remaining 240 detainees held at Guantánamo Bay will be treated according to the rule of law and American values, but none who pose a danger to American citizens and national security will be released.
The president said that this generation of Americans faces “a great test” when it comes to terrorism and how to treat detainees. Obama laid out a framework for how the United States will proceed in trying those detainees accused of acts of terrorism. The framework aims to conform to accepted U.S. legal practice in how detainees will be confined if convicted by U.S. courts or revised military commissions.
Obama said, “Instead of building a durable framework for the struggle against al-Qaida that drew upon our deeply held values and traditions, our government was defending positions that undermined the rule of law. Indeed, part of the rationale for establishing Guantánamo in the first place was the misplaced notion that a prison there would be beyond the law — a proposition that the [U.S.] Supreme Court soundly rejected. Meanwhile, instead of serving as a tool to counter terrorism, Guantánamo became a symbol that helped al-Qaida recruit terrorists to its cause. Indeed, the existence of Guantánamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained.”
Right now, the Guantánamo detainees are confined at the specially designed military detention center on the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay. The detention center was designated in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush as a facility for holding non-U.S. citizens who were believed to have committed acts of terrorism. It began receiving detainees in early 2002. On January 22, 2009, Obama ordered the facility holding detainees to be closed within one year.
In his May 21 speech, President Obama said, “Now let me be blunt. There are no neat or easy answers here. I wish there were. But I can tell you that the wrong answer is to pretend like this problem will go away if we maintain an unsustainable status quo. As President, I refuse to allow this problem to fester. I refuse to pass it on to somebody else. It is my responsibility to solve the problem. Our security interests will not permit us to delay. Our courts won't allow it. And neither should our conscience.”
The Obama administration is currently in the process of reviewing each of the detainee cases at Guantánamo. The goal is to determine the appropriate policy for dealing with them. The president said the cases will fall into five distinct categories.
First, when feasible, detainees who have violated U.S. criminal laws will be tried in U.S. federal district courts. Obama noted that terrorists have already been tried in federal courts with U.S. citizens sitting on juries, and those found guilty have been sentenced to U.S. federal prisons.
Second, cases involving detainees who violated internationally recognized laws of war will be tried by a revised military commission system that adheres to U.S. Supreme Court decisions and provides added safeguards for detainees’ rights.
In the third category, 21 detainees who have been ordered released by the federal courts because there is no legitimate reason to hold them further will be released.
Fourth, Obama said, some detainees whom authorities have determined can be transferred to another country, will leave as soon as arrangements can be made. The president said the review team has approved 50 detainees for transfer.
Finally, Obama said, some detainees at Guantánamo cannot be prosecuted, but continue to pose a clear danger to the American people. This is the toughest issue the United States will face, he said. Every effort will be made to prosecute those who can be tried who pose a danger to the United States, but even with that, some cannot be prosecuted for a number of legal reasons, the president said.
The administration has begun to reshape these standards to ensure they are in line with the rule of law. The standards being developed must be lawful and fair, and have a thorough process of review. The administration's goal is to construct a legitimate legal framework for Guantánamo detainees, not to avoid one.
The following documents offer details on President Obama’s plans on Guantánamo Bay and related issues. Additional documents detailing Obama’s agenda for change can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/.
• Calling for the closure of the Guantanamo detention center within one year.
• Creating a Special Task Force to review detainee policy going forward.
• Ensuring lawful interrogations by requiring that all interrogations of detainees in armed conflict follow the Army Field Manual interrogation guidelines.
(end text)
