Since Guantanamo Bay prison was opened, it became a rallying cry for recruitment of anti-American terrorist organizations. It has become the symbol of American government lawlessness.
Senator Obama, campaigning for the Presidency, rightly stated that Guantanamo prison had to be closed.
He seems to have overlooked something in the process; the rule of law.
You know, that which he claimed would be restored under his Presidency...
Guantanamo prison may be in the process of closing down, but, the rules that were applied at Guantanamo are simply being reapplied -- this time, within our own borders.
There will be a new "supermax" prison established in Thomson, Illinois. Many of the detainees still at Guantanamo prison will be transferred to this new facility. As Glenn Greenwald not only reports, but proves by Obama administration official's own documents and statements, the rules will not change, however.
None of the prisoners being transferred are expected to be tried in civilian courts, instead maybe being tried by a military tribunal. I say maybe, because some of the prisoners are still to be held, indefinitely, without any trial whatsoever.
Forget conspiracy theories of secret FEMA camps. This is right out there in the open, for all to see. For the first time in our nation's history, there will be a prison, on American soil, where people will be imprisoned for the rest of their lives without ever having had a trial.
Even after every other war, where we held prisoners-of-war in prison camps, we eventually sent the prisoners back to their country after the war was over.
This war, the "war on terror", isn't supposed to end.
These people, the alleged terrorists, aren't even being charged with the crime of terrorism.
We have already watched numerous cases where, when put under a microscope, the cases against alleged terrorists held at Guantanamo disintegrated and the individuals were simply deported to another country.
Forget conspiracy theories of black helicopters coming to snatch you up in the middle of the night. This is now right out there in the open after the trial in Italy. The CIA will simply snatch you off the street, call you a terrorist, and make you disappear.
Whether you are innocent or not isn't a factor anymore. You are simply to be deemed guilty by the government and imprisoned.
When President Bush did this, we screamed about how unjust it was. When President Bush claimed the right to imprison people without trial, we screamed about how people in the system were already shown to be innocent.
It is now President Obama who states he can simply imprison a person without a trial. It is now President Obama who states that the government can imprison you indefinitely, just because they say they can.
He isn't just stating it. He is doing it.
Years ago, this was all "conspiracy theory". Even though reports leaked out, even though we watched the start of it, even though we were told it would change, we are now at the point where the facts and history are written for all to see.
So, what changed? Only who was in the Oval Office claiming he had the power to do it. Only the "where" of where it will occur. Nothing else.