"Gitmo to Close?"

From the Guardian


Thursday June 29 2006
Gitmo to close?By Mark Tran / USA 04:15pm

The Bush administration has just received the political cover it needs to close down Guantánamo Bay after a much-awaited decision from the supreme court.

America's highest court has ruled that George Bush exceeded his authority and violated the Geneva Conventions in ordering military war crimes trials for detainees at the US makeshift prison in Cuba, where 460 mostly Muslim foreigners have been held in a legal limbo.

For all of the political grief that Guantanamo has caused the Bush administration with its allies and human rights groups, Guantanamo has yielded precious little dividend in the war on terror.

Only 10 detainees have been charged with crimes, while about 120 others have been cleared for release, or transfer to their homelands where Washington expects them to remain in detention. Set against that have been numerous hunger strikes, attempted suicides, suicides and the damage to America's reputation.

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