According to media reports, President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team has been quietly working on a plan to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp which was built in 1898. The plan involves the release of some of the 270 detainees and the prosecution of others in U.S. criminal courts. A third group of detainees will require special courts to allow the discussion of classified information.

On November 10, 2008, the ACLU published a full-page ad in The New York Times asking Obama to close Guantanamo.

Fast Facts

1. Approximately 270 people are currently held at Guantanamo
2. Even if released, some detainees face torture or may not be accepted in their home countries
3. Closing Guantanamo was an Obama campaign promise
4. The plan deviates sharply from the Bush administration’s military tribunals 

A Special Court

A segment of the Guantanamo population cannot be simply freed or tried under the U.S. federal court system because their cases involve classified information.

U.S. military tribunals have been criticized for recognizing lax evidence rules and promoting intense secrecy by human rights groups, defense attorneys and military prosecutors. Federal courts might have to disallow evidence from intelligence sources, and undercover CIA operatives or informers might have to testify in court, risking their careers and lives.

While plans are not complete, Obama’s advisers are reportedly considering a hybrid of military and civil court systems.

From another perspective, Al Jazeera.net prints:

Aides to Obama say he remains committed to closing Guantanamo and trying the remaining detainees.

"President-Elect Obama said throughout his campaign that the legal framework at Guantanamo has failed to successfully and swiftly prosecute terrorists, and he shares the broad bipartisan belief that Guantanamo should be closed," Denis McDonough, an advisor to Obama on foreign policy, said in a statement on Monday.

EDITORIAL NOTE: It has been one week since Americans chose Barack Obama to be the 44^th President of the United States and it is amazing, although not unexpected, that he has addressed many issue, both foreign and domestic. The tasks that now confront him are monumental however we believe his is equal to the job.

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