Colin Powell is the most recent prominent American to call for the closing of the "legal limbo" prison in Guantanamo, Cuba. When I hear a call to close down Guantanamo, I vainly hope that it is actually a call to close it down totally--to remove American soldiers from Cuban soil.
Most critics of Guantanamo point to it as a symbol of American excess in the war on terror, and a growing disregard for the rule of law. However, the naval station at Guantanamo symbolizes something else to me: imperialism. Our base at Guantanamo is the last remnant of our colonial escapade in Cuba.
Our recent behavior towards Iraq is eerily reminiscent of our behavior towards Cuba over a century ago. Every time a Bush-supporter tries to assure the public that we will only maintain military bases in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, I have to wonder why we still have a military base in Cuba even though it has been blatantly obvious for almost fifty years that the Cubans want us to leave.
The lease for Guantanamo Bay was originally established as part of the Platt Amendment in 1903, which was forced on the Cubans as a condition of ending the US occupation of the island. The current lease, which never expires, was signed in 1934 with dictator Fulgencio Batista, a friend of American government and organized crime. It is clearly an invalid treaty.
If you have a moment take a look at the website for the Naval Installation at Guantanamo Bay.
Welcome to the website for the oldest overseas U.S. Naval Base and the
only one in a country with which the U.S. does not maintain diplomatic relations.
(emphasis mine)