Closing GITMO: Popular But Dangerous!!

First, not every detainee at Gitmo was there because they were suspected terrorists picked up on american soil after 911. Many are prisoners of war captured by the US in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were subject to the accords of the Geneva convenntion (accords signed and ratified by the US) but they were denied those rights. Every human rights organization on earth including Amnesty International has accused the US of violations. There is no intention to release these people within the continental US but the ones who have sufficient evidence against them will be brought to the US to stand trial where they will be granted legal representation. (One of the reasons Gitmo is on Cuban soil is because it allows the US to incarcerate people without charges and without any right to representation.) I'm not certain what the numbers are on Guantanamo detainees but I belief at one time there were upwards of 700. At the present time there are 245. Many have already been returned their own countries or repatriated to other countries willing to take them. Because of the anger of the world against the Bush administration for allowing the injustices at Gitmo, several countries such as Britain and Australia refused to help with repatriating the detainees. This morning, Britian has indicated that she will be willing to help the Obama administration find countries for those not brought to trial. Also, Portugal has asked the EU to begin taking in detainees. Gitmo was a disgrace and it flew in the face of everything this country stands for. When Colin Powell was asked awhile back in a California interview if he would close Guantanamo, he replied that he would close it that afternoon if he could. Many leaders in the US and around the world feel the same. Thankfully, Barack Obama is one of them.