Guantanamo May Close, but Problems Remain

Below is an article I just whipped for Amnesty International Australia. It's essentially a round-up of all the latest efforts that may lead to the closing of GTMO. The piece begins:

While public outrage in Australia over the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay has diminished in the wake of David Hicks’s return, controversy surrounding the base has not abated elsewhere, especially in the United States. This year has been marked by repeated calls for closures of the base, including from high-profile Americans like former Secretary of State Colin Powell and current Defense Secretary Robert Gates. According to the Associated Press, even Laura and Barbara Bush, have told George Jr. that “Guantanamo is a blot on the US record abroad, particularly in the Muslim world and among European allies.”

Despite a small, but growing consensus within the Bush Administration that Guantanamo must be shut down, there are still two defenders that hold the line against closure: Vice President Dick Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. These men are base’s chief ideological and legal architects and they hold tremendous sway over presidential decision-making. So far, George W. Bush has offered no plans to close down the base...

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