what is the story with Guantanamo Bay?

Question

Why was it created (the prison), is it for use only by America?, is there any legal rights given there, why set it up in Cuba when we have horrible relations, and why would Castro allow us to if he could care less or us, what is the significance of Guantanamo vs any other international prison?

I'm hoping so one can better explain this

Answer 1

The US has a military (naval) base in Cuba, established around the turn of the century (1900). Cuba officially refuses the validity of the lease, but doesn't really want to start a war with the US over it so the stalemate remains.

Because this military base is not on US soil, our Commander-in-Sheik thought it would be a great place to hold captives in the current 'war on terror' so that they did not have access to US courts.

The problem with that argument is that it ignores the basic text of the Constitution. The 6th Amendment guarantees that anyone accused by the federal government have access to the courts, assistance of an attorney, and the right to a jury trial. These are not rights granted because of citizenship or other status. They are requirements imposed on the federal government by the Constitution. So these rights apply regardless of who is being held, because they are being held by the US government.

Aside from Gitmo (as it has commonly known because of spelling problems), the US government has been accused of having other secret detention facilities around the world, for the same reasons -- to prevent people being held there from asserting their constitutional rights.

As of a couple weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the Geneva Convention also applies to detainees held there. It remains to be seen how effective this order will be, and whether it will end up being applied to the other alleged detention facilities. So far, two court cases alleging kidnapping and confinement of foreign nationals by US military forces overseas have been dismissed, because the US government does not acknowledge the authority of the US courts to oversee presidentially ordered kidnapping.

Answer 2

Guantánamo Bay Naval Base has been used by the United States Navy for more than a century. The United States controls the land on both sides of the southern part of Guantánamo Bay under a lease set up in the wake of the 1898 Spanish-American War. The Cuban government denounces the lease on grounds that article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties voids treaties procured by force or its threatened use.

Since 2001, the naval base has contained a detainment camp for persons alleged to be militant combatants captured in Afghanistan and later in Iraq that the U.S. maintains are not protected under the Geneva Convention, no longer the case as of 7/11/06.

The U.S. control of this Cuban territory has never been popular with successive Cuban governments. The present government denounces the lease ensuring US control, pointing to article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties which declares a treaty void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force — in this case by the inclusion, in 1901, of the Platt Amendment in the first Cuban Constitution. The United States warned the Cuban Constitutional Convention not to remove the Amendment, and stated U.S. troops would not leave Cuba until its terms had been adopted as a condition for the U.S. to grant independence. The Platt Amendment was dissolved in 1934, and the treaty re-affirming the lease to the base was signed after Franklin D. Roosevelt had issued 29 US warships to Cuba and Key West to protect US interests following a military coup.

Since coming to power in 1959, Cuban president Fidel Castro has refused to cash all but the very first rent cheque in protest. But the United States makes much of that cheque, arguing that its cashing signifies Havana's ratification of the lease — and that ratification by the new government renders moot any questions about violations of sovereignty and illegal military occupation.

Answer 3

The fact of the matter is that the 'torture' claims are cowardly libels committed by people who know that their victims cannot defend themselves. The work done at Gitmo is classified and as a result the people serving there cannot tell their side of the story.

Anybody who believes the "torture" claims about Gitmo and also claims to 'support the troops' is a liar.


Ever notice that even the ICRC admits that we have not tortured any prisoners at Gitmo? Notice that the European human rights investigators have concluded that the prisoners in Gitmo are treated better than in prisoners in Belgian prisons?

Remember the 'Koran flushed down a toilet' claim? Notice how people unthinking believed this - without pondering the fact that this is physically impossible?

Answer 4

the first guy had a good answer, but did you know this? US sends a check for rent of the land of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Castro has never cashed a check in all this time.

Answer 5

We own that little piece of Cuba and Castro can't get us out. He knows better than to try. He might lose the rest of the country and be sharing a cell with Saddam or Noriega. What ever happened to Manuel Noriega? Remember him? The president of Panama. He's rotting in a cell somewhere.
Prisoners held there are not Americans and have no rights under our constitution to a fair and speedy trial. So we can hold them indefinitely without a trial. If we want to kill one of them we have a military trial and kill them. No lawyers and no appeals.

Answer 6

Guantanamo Naval base was created nearly a century ago. It stood as a naval base before a very small portion of it was used by a prison. From what I hear from Friends that are Marines it is a good tour.

Answer 7

Coragryph, I couldn't have said it better. All I can add is that this "out of sight, out of mind" situation also makes them feel like they can get away with torture and other human rights violations as well.

Answer 8

The Bush administration admitted to torture, they only tried to redefine it. So the evidence is in the admission. additionally the conservative media admitted it too, and the media has no sympathy for terrorists.