Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp is a joint military prison and interrogation camp under the leadership of Joint Task Force Guantanamo since 2002. The prison, established at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, holds people suspected by the executive branch of the U.S. government of being al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives, as well as those no longer considered suspects who are being held pending relocation elsewhere. The camp has drawn strong criticism for its extrajudicial detention of captives and the possibility that captives held there were subjected to abusive interrogation techniques that could constitute torture. The detainees held by the United States were classified as "enemy combatants".
Joseph Biden on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | Senator Joseph Biden supported a bill to close Guantanamo Bay detention camp. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Closure Act of 2007 (8/29/07)
Biden co-sponsored legislation to close Guantanamo. |
| 2. |
Biden on ABC with George Stephanopoulos (8/29/07)
ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos transcript |
| 3. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (8/19/07)
Legislation in the Senate to close Guantanamo has won support from three of the eight Democratic candidates: New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden. Clinton and Dodd are co-sponsors of a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. |
Sam Brownback on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Supports it and supports keeping it open |
| Description: | Sen. Brownback supports keeping Guantanamo Bay's prison camp open. He is in an uncommon position for a presidential candidate because the Fort Leavenworth military prison in his state is one location where detainees may be transferred should Guantanamo close down. In response to that suggestion, Brownback said, "Given the investment we have made in a secure facility at Guantanamo, far away from U.S. residents, the administration needs to make a much more compelling case that a detainee transfer is a justifiable use of resources, that it can be completed safely, and that it can be done without significant impact on local communities." |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
What are the alternatives to Guantanamo? (8/29/07)
"Americans do not want terrorists in their backyard, and we do not need them in Kansas." - Brownback |
Hillary Clinton on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | Senator Hillary Clinton has stated that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp hurts America's image and should be closed. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Clinton calls for Closure of Guantanamo (8/29/07)
A statement she made condemning it. |
| 2. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (8/19/07)
Legislation in the Senate to close Guantanamo has won support from three of the eight Democratic candidates: New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden. Clinton and Dodd are co-sponsors of a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "In the eyes of the world, Guantanamo is ammunition for our enemies, and it is time to close Guantanamo and to deal with both the security and the legal challenges," Clinton said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in April. |
Christopher Dodd on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | Close Guantanamo |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Dodd on Supreme Court and Guantanamo (8/29/07)
"I am hopeful that the Court sees that several provisions of the Military Commissions Act cannot pass Constitutional muster. In its current form, the Military Commissions Act does not provide a credible process for bringing suspected terrorists to justice, stripping our nation of its moral authority and further imperiling our military personnel abroad. "Indeed, the erosion of Constitutional rights does not achieve their intended goal of increasing our security. Instead, it has reduced our standing in the world, making us more isolated and ultimately more vulnerable and less secure. "While the Supreme Court's review is necessary, I hope that Congress will also do its part to immediately change this law by supporting the Restoring the Constitution Act which develops a tough but fair system of bringing terrorists to justice." |
| 2. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (8/19/07)
Legislation in the Senate to close Guantanamo has won support from three of the eight Democratic candidates: New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden. Clinton and Dodd are co-sponsors of a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. |
| 3. |
Chris Dodd on Habeus Corpus (8/13/07)
A speech by Dodd about closing Guantanamo |
John Edwards on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | Edwards has promised to close the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba on his first day in office if he is elected president. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Edwards Addresses the Council on Foreign Relations (8/29/07)
Edwards on how he will close Guantanamo as soon as possible. |
| 2. |
Edwards: Washington is 'broken' (8/13/07)
The candidate promised to close the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba on his first day in office if he is elected president, calling the facility "an embarrassment" for the United States. |
Newt Gingrich on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Supports |
| Description: | Gingrich believes that terrorists are not protected under the Geneva Convention. He also believes that these terrorists should not be given constitutional rights because they are not American citizens. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Newt: Censure Durbin (10/4/07)
Last week in the Senate, after reading an FBI memo describing prisoner conditions in Guantanamo Bay, Sen. Richard Durbin, one of the highest-ranking leaders in the Senate said, "If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings." The comparison, sadly, is despicable. The Senate should censure Mr. Durbin for his statement. |
| 2. |
Newt Gingrich on The O'Reilly Factor (10/4/07)
Transcript from the O'Reilly factor where Gingrich criticizes the criticisms of Guantanamo Bay. |
| 3. |
Hannity and Colmes: Interview with Newt Gingrich (10/4/07)
A transcript of Newt on Hannity and Colmes talking about Guantanamo and if it is legal. |
Rudolph Giuliani on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Leave Guantanamo the way it is for now |
| Description: | Mayor Rudolph Giuliani would not close the Guantanamo bay detainment camp. He also would not rule out closing the detainment camp. He said he would have to examine the current conditions at Guantanamo Bay before he made a decision. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Do We Remain on Offense? (8/29/07)
Giuliani supports the detention camp at Guantanamo. He said in a June 2007 interview with the Wall Street Journal that he believes the allegations of prisoner mistreatment at Guantanamo have "been grossly exaggerated, and many of the reports that I see are that it's not terribly different from any other prisons." |
| 2. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (8/19/07)
"I'm not inclined to agree right now that we should necessarily close Guantanamo," former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said in New Hampshire, a few days after Powell's interview. "I'd have to go look and see what are the conditions today." ... One divide among Republican candidates concerns how to get information from suspects. McCain has rejected "waterboarding," a practice in which prisoners are held under water, which he says is tantamount to torture. Giuliani and Romney have not ruled out waterboarding specifically; they support "enhanced" techniques. "I would tell the people who had to do the interrogation to use every method they could think of," Giuliani said at the June 5 New Hampshire debate. "It shouldn't be torture, but every method they can think of." |
Al Gore on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | "The Bush administration's treatment of American citizens it calls 'enemy combatants' is nothing short of un-American." - Al Gore on Guantanamo |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Gore accuses Bush of undermining freedoms (9/27/07)
"He criticized the designation of U.S. citizens as enemy combatants held without judicial review, and the imprisonment of detainees in the war on terrorism at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, urging that they receive similar hearings." |
| 2. |
Fighting for the Enemy (8/29/07)
Al Gore recently unleashed the U-bomb ("un-American") to characterize the handling of captured Taliban fighters: "The Bush administration's treatment of American citizens it calls 'enemy combatants' is nothing short of un-American." |
Mike Gravel on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | Gravel says he would "raze" Guantanamo if elected. "We must tell the world that the United States does not stand for torture. It is unacceptable human behavior," he says. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Gravel Wraps Up Pittsburgh, New York City Swing (8/29/07)
Gravel talking about closing Guantanamo |
Chuck Hagel on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | The detainment camp is causing us to lose our image around the world |
| Description: | Hagel has cited controversy at the prison as one reason the United States is "losing the image war around the world." |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Guantanamo Bay to Stay Open, Cheney Says (8/15/07)
and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) cited controversy at the prison as one reason the United States is "losing the image war around the world." |
Mike Huckabee on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Do not change Guantanamo Bay |
| Description: | Governor Mike Huckabee has stated that he believes conditions at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp are "acceptable." |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Huckabee Says Guantanamo Bay Offers Better Conditions to Detainees Than Most U.S. Prisons (8/29/07)
Huckabee, who has visited Guantanamo, says the facility is better than some prisons in the United States and that some U.S. prisoners would "love to be in a facility more like Guantanamo." Huckabee in June 2007 also warned against releasing its prisoners. "If we let somebody out and it turns out that they come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers, we're going to be asking how come we didn't stop them, we had them detained," he said. "If we're going to make a mistake right now, let's make it on the side of protecting the American people." |
| 2. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (8/19/07)
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee have both said conditions at Guantanamo are acceptable. |
Duncan Hunter on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Supports its use |
| Description: | Hunter has spoken out against any attempts to close Guantanamo. His primary grievance is that transferring detainees to facilities in the United States would allow detainees to "acquire minimal rights under the Constitution, in particular, the right to habeas corpus." He warned that this would stall the military commission process "for the foreseeable future, and none of the detainees at Guantanamo would be brought to justice." |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Claim: Gitmo closure would aid terrorists (8/29/07)
Closing the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay would help terror suspects escape justice, a U.S. presidential candidate said. |
| 2. |
Keep Prison Open (10/17/07)
Duncan Hunter believes the Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp should stay open. |
Dennis Kucinich on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | In June 2007, Kucinich cosigned with 145 other members of the House a letter urging President Bush to close Guantanamo and transfer the prisoners (McClatchy) to military detention facilities in the United States. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Democrats may seek Guantanamo shutdown (8/29/07)
"You could close Guantanamo; that's a good move - but until the United States ends the occupation (of Iraq), we will still have this war," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D- Ohio. |
| 2. |
Congress letter to Bush: Close Guantanamo (8/29/07)
Kucinich signed the bill for the closure of Guantanamo. |
John McCain on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | Close Guantanamo |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (8/19/07)
John McCain says close Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. |
| 2. |
Guantanamo key factor in '08 race (8/13/07)
Says McCain opposes Guantanamo |
Barack Obama on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | Senator Barack Obama supports closing the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Obama Says Gitmo Facility Should Close (8/29/07)
"While we're at it," he said, "we're going to close Guantanamo. And we're going to restore habeas corpus. ... We're going to lead by example _ by not just word but by deed. That's our vision for the future." |
| 2. |
Remarks of Obama on the Military Commission Legislation (8/29/07)
Instead of detainees arriving at Guantanamo and facing a Combatant Status Review Tribunal that allows them no real chance to prove their innocence with evidence or a lawyer, we could have developed a real military system of justice that would sort out the suspected terrorists from the accidentally accused. |
| 3. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (10/4/07)
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has not backed either bill though he repeatedly calls for closing Guantanamo and restoring the right of prisoners to challenge their detention. "Ultimately, he supports Guantanamo closing and is still working to find the best possible solution for the prisoners who are there right now," said spokesman Bill Burton, Obama's campaign spokesman. |
Ron Paul on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Shut down Guantanamo |
| Description: | "Shut it down. The current rationale at Guantanamo is based on the false premise that detainees are not entitled to due process protections. I support court decisions recognizing fundamental human rights, such as habeas corpus. Again, this is an issue that flies in the face of our civic and legal traditions as outlined in the Constitution. As such, I see no purpose for continuing the facility." - Ron Paul speaking about Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
An Interview with Presidential Candidate Ron Paul (8/29/07)
"Shut it down. The current rationale at Guantanamo is based on the false premise that detainees are not entitled to due process protections. I support court decisions recognizing fundamental human rights, such as habeas corpus. Again, this is an issue that flies in the face of our civic and legal traditions as outlined in the Constitution. As such, I see no purpose for continuing the facility." - Ron Paul on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp |
| 2. |
Guantanamo key factor in '08 race (8/13/07)
Says Paul opposes Guantanamo |
| 3. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (10/17/07)
This article states Ron Paul favors closing the Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp. |
Bill Richardson on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Close Guantanamo |
| Description: | The governor also called for the closure of Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. detainment camp on the island of Cuba. He said there would be a 'no torture' policy if he were president. - CNN on Richardson |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Democratic candidate learns of Plame news on the trail (8/13/07)
Richardson saying he will close Guantanamo |
| 2. |
The New Realism and the Rebirth of American Leadership (10/4/07)
In a speech on February 8, 2007, Bill Richardson stated "If we want Muslims to open to us, we should start by closing Guantanamo." |
| 3. |
Mideast a priority, says Richardson (10/4/07)
In separate appearances, Gov. Bill Richardson told an Arab-American group that, as president, he would close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorists and a Democratic Jewish group that he would consider increasing aid to Israel. ... At the Arab-American Institute Foundation dinner, Richardson said the prisons at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib had made Americans "very, very ashamed." |
| 4. |
Richardson: U.S. Must Lead by Example (10/4/07)
Richardson also said to win the war against Jihadism, the United States must first live up to its own ideals. "Prisoner abuse, torture, secret prisons, renditions, and evasion of the Geneva conventions must have no place in our policy," Richardson said. "If we want Muslims to open to us, we should start by closing Guantanamo." |
| 5. |
What about Bill? (10/4/07)
In response to an audience member's question about what to do with Guantanamo Bay prison, Richardson elicited applause when he promptly replied, "Close it down" He added, "I'd close it down the second day because the first day we've got to get out of Iraq." |
Mitt Romney on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Double Guantanamo |
| Description: | "I don't want them on our soil," Romney said. "I want them on Guantanamo, where they don't get the access to lawyers that they get when they're on our soil. I don't want them in our prisons. I want them there. Some people have said we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is we ought to double Guantanamo." |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Guantanamo Bay puzzles candidates (8/29/07)
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee have both said conditions at Guantanamo are acceptable. "The food down there is unbelievable. This is not this gulag; this is a modern prison which treats people with dignity and respect," Romney said this month. |
| 2. |
Republican Debate Transcript, South Carolina (8/29/07)
Now we're going to -- you said the person's going to be in Guantanamo. I'm glad they're at Guantanamo. I don't want them on our soil. I want them on Guantanamo, where they don't get the access to lawyers they get when they're on our soil. I don't want them in our prisons. I want them there. |
| 3. |
Double Guantanamo (7/26/07)
Quotes from Romney's statements about Guantanamo during a Republican debate. |
Tom Tancredo on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Keep Guantanamo open |
| Description: | Tancredo is in favor of keeping Guantanamo open. |
| Citations: |
Fred Thompson on Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp
More on this candidate
| Stance: | Supports |
| Description: | Fred Thompson supports the basic idea of Guantanamo though he has helped Lybian terrorists to get legal counsel. |
| Citations: |
| 1. |
Thompson is Sparse on Policy Positions (8/29/07)
He adds: "The French jail perfectly nice people for politically incorrect comments, but scold us for holding terrorists at Guantanamo." |
| 2. |
Fred Thompson Says Bin Laden Should be Caught, Killed, But Receive Due Process (10/4/07)
Later, a Thompson spokesman explained that Thompson meant "the same rules ought to apply to him as to everyone at Guantanamo Bay, and there ought to be due process thru a special military court or commission." |
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