Shaker Aamer and the dirty secrets of the war on terror
▻http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/23/shaker-aamer-dirty-secrets-war-on-terror
Set up on US-occupied Cuban territory, it was filled with supposed “enemy combatants” seized in post-invasion Afghanistan, the vast majority of whom were then held without charge or trial, brutalised and tortured. That was all supposed to have come to an end after Obama’s election.
But instead of shutting this monstrosity, the camp is being rebuilt. Congress has played a central role in keeping Guantánamo open. But the president only tried to move it to Illinois, not end the scandal of indefinite detention without trial. And he’s personally blocked the release of dozens of prisoners, even when they’ve been cleared.