Mr. Kuttab,

I believe Vice President Biden and Sen. McCain will do everything possible in Congress to rebuild the American economy and restore America’s international image. These men are more than just gentlemen; they are the epitome of American patriots.

I also believe when Sen. McCain shakes President Obama’s hand, he will whisper to President Obama that his darkest hour ever was when he was held captive in Vietnam and does not wish this fate on his worst enemy. Therefore, Sen. McCain will be asked by President Obama, and Sen. McCain will accept, to lead a US Congressional delegation to pass legislation providing for the humane adjudication of all detainees and close Guantanamo Prison. These honorable men recognize that the American society, a humane society, cannot and should not condone this behavior regardless of the circumstances. They will stop this practice to show the world we will uphold our ideals for the world to emulate.

First and foremost all the gitmo type gulags should be shut down immediately. Why? They were and are a twisted sense of false "justice" and a stinging slap on the face of Americans such as I who are strong advocates of the rule of law - even for so called " terrorists." Many in our great nation would prefer returning to the practice of true United States Constitutional Law which of late has been treated with sheer disdain.
Gitmo, Bagram, and yes even Abu Ghraib have given license to foreign govts around the world to spit at us without so much as blinking an eye. The "Do as I say and not as I Do" arrogance of the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld era has created an unjust America which many of us as 4th and 5th generation Republicans are truly ashamed of.

We have voted for change and hope that our party of Lincoln and Eisenhower will again arise from the ashes. Thanks to the Bush Doctrine our party has lost its moral compass and it has offended millions of Republicans such as us who voted 4 Obama out of frustration and for positive change. We also have high hopes for the new leadership and hope it learns from the mistakes of the past. Unless Obama and company change the direction of the previous guv, and shut down all the gulags in various parts of the world all of our hopes and aspirations would be for naught. We cannot go back to the same old injustices of the previous White House, instead we need to move forward towards a genuine "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave." Our citizens need to be safer not only here at home but around the world as well, this will only be possible by shutting down all the torture centers the previous guv has created.

Closing Guantanamo implies that there is no such thing as an international criminal preying on humanity and that is a fundamental myth of 'rights' advocates and world anarchists who profess to protect them (terrorists victems are out there somewhere). The mistake at Guantanamo is that it was reserved for sociopathic entities rounded up for 9-11 crimes against humanity and not reserved for entities engaged in crimes against humanity in general. Chemical traffickers, female and child slavers, and genociders all qualify as sociopathic suspects engaged in crimes against humanity. The European belief that such people caught in an environment of crimes against humanity are innocent until proven guilty and should not be detained somewhere is an absurd, irrational distortion of human public safety. It is equivalent to saying that plaque carrying rats are entitled (ie: have rights) to leftovers in Parisian or Berlin garbage cans. At some point, a facility like Guantanamo or several of them will be needed as globalization continues. Guantanamo may have been a recent American social innovation but the criminals there were bred all over the world and they are a world problem as are all crimes against humanity perpetrators.

Announcing the closing of gitmo is something Obama should do on the steps of the capital immediately after taking his oath of office. The prisnors should be moved to federal prisons in the US, and be afforded due process. We cannot, as a nation, preach to the world about the rule of law while denying it to people in US custody. To paraphrase Noam Chomsky, if we do not believe in the rule of law and due process for those we dispise, we do not believe in it at all. Everyone, regardless of what they are charged with, should be afforded the opportunity to defend themselvs. If they are not, we surrender our claim of greatness as a nation.

Yes!

Guantanamo is a national shame. Please bear with us while we transition our government. Just 75 more days!!!

its adream as united states never change its foreign policy. only the person change.

zzzm,

Dream on.

Guantanamo IS going to close under Obama.

Thank you Daoud for your advice is exactly right.

Islamic terrorism is an oxymoron invented by the Israeli-loving neocons who want America to battle their exapansionist wars against the demonized Muslims.

Sad the once dehumanized Israelis would dehumanize Islam and fellow Semites.

GObama!

Mr. Kuttab, closing Guantanamo is not going to happen.

You see, the President needs Guantanamo to effectively do his job of protecting America from Islamic terrorism. Now, some people opposed the existence of Guantanamo for that reason – it is effective. In order to keep this discussion civil, we won’t name those people or accuse you of being one of them.

Some people called for Guantanamo to be closed because it was an effective issue to demagogue. It enabled them to demonize President Bush. These people didn’t care about the terrorists incarcerated at Guantanamo, they just hated Bush and wanted him to look bad. Since these folks are generally leftists, they are also generally Obama supporters. President Obama will need Guantanamo if he wants to be an effective President. So the propaganda will change quickly in the next few weeks. The New York Times has already changed its position and come out in favor of keeping Guantanamo open. The rest of the media will quickly follow suit.

So you see, the de facto alliance between American leftists and foreign terrorists has come to an end. The leftists have achieved their goals. Stoking a frenzy of concern for the Human rights of known terrorists and mass murderers will no longer be in the best interest to the American left. The closing of Guantanamo will only remain of interest to terrorist sympathizers. The Bush-haters will abandon them as soon as Bush leaves and Obama takes over.

In other words, your opinion on this subject is no longer trendy or popular, it is obsolete. You will need to get a new trendy opinion if you are to remain on these pages, Mr. Kuttab, or you will see your column inches dry up.

Call it friendly advice. You are welcome.