Closing Gitmo

The transition period has been full of interesting rumor and counter-rumor. One story that is picking up momentum is focused on the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. Human rights activists, foreign policy advisors and ordinary citizens have been pushing for its closure for a number of years. Finally, with the election of Obama as President, we may be seeing the removal of this black stain on the image of our country.

Peter Finn, in an A1 story for the Washington Post, noted that the Obama Administration was going to make a review of all 250 or so Gitmo cases a priority and that they wanted to move rapidly to shut it down. This portion of the story captured things well:

Announcing the closure of the controversial detention facility would be among the most potent signals the incoming administration could send of its sharp break with the Bush era, according to the advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak for the president-elect. They believe the move would create a global wave of diplomatic and popular goodwill that could accelerate the transfer of some detainees to other countries.

I believe that Obama understands that Gitmo needs to be shut down - he was spoken out powerfully on this issue in the past. Now he needs support from the American public as his Administration looks to act. Many activists will push for action on Gitmo on day 1 (see this ACLU campaign for e.g.) - I don't need to see this happen on day 1 - I'll settle for the first 100 days.