The most infamous detention facility in the world has been operating for nearly 25 years, and it has no announced plan to close. Only 15 prisoners remain at Guantanamo Bay, and the facility will close only when those remaining die or through an act of a future Congress and president.
The Facility That Refuses to Die
On September 11, 2001, the attacks that precipitated the facility’s creation occurred, claiming nearly 3,000 lives. About 780 men have been or are detained at Guantanamo Bay during its nearly 25-year history. The remaining 15 prisoners have been detained there since at least 2008. Three of them arrived in 2002, the year the facility opened.
Why It Keeps Operating
The facility has been running for more than two decades without a stated plan to close. The men left inside have been there for years.
The 15 Remaining Prisoners
All 15 remaining prisoners have been at the facility since at least 2008. Three arrived in 2002, the year the facility opened.
The Numbers Behind the Story
- The facility has been operating for nearly 25 years.
- On September 11, 2001, the attacks that precipitated the facility’s creation occurred, claiming nearly 3,000 lives.
- About 780 men have been or are detained at Guantanamo Bay during its nearly 25-year history.
- Only 15 prisoners remain at the facility.
- All 15 remaining prisoners have been detained at Guantanamo Bay since at least 2008.
- Three of the 15 arrived at the facility in 2002, the year it opened.
The Case for Closure
The facility will close only when the remaining prisoners die or through an act of a future Congress and president. That is the only path the government has offered.
The Hard Numbers
- 25 years of operation
- 780 men detained in the facility’s history
- 15 prisoners remaining
- 2002: the year the facility opened and three of the 15 prisoners arrived
- Nearly 3,000 lives lost on September 11, 2001
The facility will close only when the remaining prisoners die or through an act of a future Congress and president. The men left inside have been there for years.
The facility will close only when the remaining prisoners die or through an act of a future Congress and president.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the 15 remaining prisoners who have never been charged or convicted of a crime, and is against the government agency and office that have kept the facility open for nearly 25 years with no plan to close it. This is an old, broken system, one that keeps people detained for years without trial, and the paper is against it.
The facility has no announced plan to close. It will close only when the remaining prisoners die, or through an act of a future Congress and president. That is the government’s own answer, and it is not an answer at all. It is a policy of indefinite detention disguised as a plan. The paper is against any government office or agency holding this kind of power over people’s lives without clearly stated limits.
The facility was created after September 11, 2001, and has been open for nearly 25 years. About 780 men have been or are detained there during its history. Only 15 remain, and three of those arrived in 2002, the year the facility opened. The paper is against the agency and the office that have kept it open for so long with no stated purpose and no stated end.
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