An Argument for Closing Guantanamo Bay Post-9/11 society has been fertile ground for extreme nationalism and, in turn, has produced a fear of terrorism that has become a major concern of the United States. With three in five Americans fearing attacks from foreign or domestic terrorists as of December 2015 (Russonello), terrorism is now considered one of the greatest threats to Americans. Naturally, the immediate response to the terrorist attack was retaliation against the "enemy", and so America invaded the Middle East to eliminate the terrorists. Yet there is still much controversy over the fate of Guantanamo Bay detainees believed to be linked to or members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. Although the topic is very emotional, it must be kept in mind that keeping Guantanamo Bay open is a violation of the basic human rights of those detained in the detention center and steps must be taken to close it as quickly as possible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 launched America into immediate retaliation against the Islamic fundamentalist group radical, Al-Qaeda. Contrary to popular belief, Al-Qaeda is more of an ideology derived from Sunni Muslim radicals and their core Islamic belief system than a true organization. At its peak, they served as a “venture capital company” fund, providing contacts and distributing advice to other activist groups as well as individuals throughout the Islamic world (Burke). Then-President George W. Bush directly addressed the Taliban to demand that they stop protecting Al-Qaeda and also hand over anyone affiliated with the terrorist group to the U.S. military. There is no specific or decisive reason as to why the Taliban refused to do so, although some argue it was due to the United States' poor negotiating skills. But when the Taliban refused, the United States attacked the Taliban and Al-Qaeda with missiles and airstrikes. 10,000 suspected al-Qaeda members were captured, 1,000 of whom were subsequently sent to the Guantanamo Bay (Yin) detention camp. Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also called "Gitmo" or "Guantanamo", is a United States military prison located on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The camp was created after 9/11 to detain terrorists. The location of Guantanamo was chosen for reasons listed by Tung Yin, associate professor at the University of Iowa Law School, in his article "Ending the War." terrorism, one terrorist at a time": Cuba is halfway around the world from Afghanistan, surrounded by water, and because it was technically "outside" US territory, they thought that They were immune from judicial review. To some extent this will come to light. This is true when examining the treatment of detainees under the Geneva Convention and international law. After the makeshift Camp X-Ray, which held detainees in wire cages for 23 hours a day, the first camp established was Camp Delta in 2002. It took ten. million dollars to create and has several sub-camps with different security levels for each group. Later, two more camps were also built, the creation of which cost 25 million dollars (Yin). Since its inception, it has been understood that Gitmo would be temporary, with President Bush stating that he would like to shut it down at some point (Myers). .However, it still operates as a detention camp today, which divides the country as to whether this is positive or negative. Generally speaking, those opposed to closing Guantanamo argue that the risk of released detainees recidivating is too great, while supporters of the closure argue that detaining people without threat will be considered "undesirable" and that it would be difficult to convince them otherwise (Yin). There are also problems in the camp with allegations of torture and also the infringement of detainees' rights to legal process (Ivey). According to a CNN poll last March, the American public continues to oppose President Obama's plan to close Gitmo at 56%, of which 40% approve. The opposition is also mainly held by the Republicans, with 83% of votes against (LoBianco). As Donald Trump presents himself as a Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election, he promises to invest even more in the (Welna) camp. However, during the 2008 presidential election, Obama and McCain agreed that closing Guantanamo Bay would be something they would like to see accomplished (Myers). Based on the research conducted, the optimal choice would be to permanently close Guantanamo Bay, because the issues surrounding the treatment of detainees and their right to trial are far more complex and logical for closure than the fear that keeps Gitmo open. First, the allegations of torture sparked a “public outcry,” as Matthew Ivey put it in his article “Framework for Closing Guantanamo Bay.” This is usually the first thing that comes to people's minds when they think of the treatment of prisoners. Serious abuse has been reported, although it should be kept in mind that these accounts could be exaggerated. At Camp Delta, detainees were allegedly subjected to abuses such as beatings, interrogation at gunpoint, chained like animals, sexual humiliation, spraying with chemical solvents, etc. (Yin). Tung Yin also added that the length of time required for prisoners to be allowed to stay outside, which is one to two hours, is shorter than the 6 to 8 hours that prisoners sentenced to death are allowed to stay outside. There are also other accounts describing subjects being deprived of food, exposed to extremely hot or cold temperatures, threatened by German shepherds, and the CIA even admitted in 2008 to using water simulation on three occasions ( Ivey). Prison staff even force-fed inmates on hunger strike, which is prohibited by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. Detainees were restrained by the ankles, wrists, shoulders, a belt around the knees and a headrest. But according to 2006 Department of Defense medical instructions and U.S. Bureau of Prisons regulations, this is permitted (Rubenstein). And secondly, the trial process that these detainees face, or rather the lack of a trial, can be encountered. controversy as well. Those taken to Guantanamo are held there “indefinitely,” with even Bush saying the facility was a “legal black hole” (Ivey) and that neither Al Qaeda nor the Taliban could obtain prisoner of war status ( Yin). Researchers argue, however, that the Taliban should at least be considered prisoners of war since the Bush administration directly targeted them for war. And if a detainee was able to stand trial, he may not have been able to be present or review all the evidence against him because of the military commission system established by Bush. Furthermore, statements made under the duress of torture cannot be used in an investigation, but if..