By Mahdi Geramifard
An interview with Reese Erlich, a freelance foreign journalist in California
Question: 145 members of the House of Representatives have sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay and move detainees to military prisons in the US, why do they insist on closing Guantanamo?
Answer: Well, it's a reflection of a growing opinion both inside the US and internationally that Guantanamo is illegal, immoral, violates international law and it's a political embarrassment for the Bush administration.
The US proclaims itself as the upholder of democracy around the world and criticizes Iran and other governments for allegedly jailing people without trial or giving people unfair trials. Yet, this example of Guantanamo stands up lately, imprisoned people there have no means to take their cases before the US courts or otherwise get a fair hearing about the accusations against them. It's just one more indication of how isolated the Bush administration is on this issue.
Question: Could we consider the closure of Guantanamo detention facilities as a positive first step towards restoring US international reputation as the so-called leader of democracy and individual rights or not?
Answer: Well, I think, that reputation has been damaged pretty badly and even closing Guantanamo is not going to repair the damage that has been done. I think it would be an important first step certainly for the people of Guantanamo and it would be a very significant defeat for the Bush administration.
The US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about the detainees in the last couple of days and this has been interpreted to mean that the Supreme Court may yet again rule the actions of the Bush administration as illegal.
Question: There was only one Republican in the group. Why didn't other Republicans support the closure of Guantanamo?
Answer: I think there are a variety of reasons. One is I think they really do believe that it's ok to imprison and torture people. Two, they think it's politically dangerous for them.
Because if the Guantanamo is closed and all prisoners are moved to the US, then for sure, the US courts will most certainly exercise the right to review the cases and that's going to prove even more embarrassing because a lot of these people are in truth being held without much evidence and most of them will come out innocently.
Question: How do you explain the approach of presidential candidates both Republicans and Democrats towards the maintenance or closure of Guantanamo?
Answer: The major candidates from both parties have not taken a very good position on this issue. They have not called for the complete closure of Guantanamo. I think that's because they're afraid of being seen soft on terrorism or they are not being patriotic or something like that. I think it's a serious problem among the major candidate.
Question: But could talking against Guantanamo be an important and positive point for presidential hopefuls or are there other issues which have greater significance for the American people?
Answer: Well I think it is a bit complicated. The majority of American people are very strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. Many call for closing Guantanamo but the politicians are not willing to even represent that majority's viewpoint. Because in the US supposedly we have democracy but politicians often don't care about the will of the people. So I think they perceive that if they take stand and oppose Guantanamo they will be attacked for somehow supporting Osama Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda or something like that.
Question: How was the reaction of the Bush administration to this letter and how do you predict the possibility of the closure of Guantanamo?
Answer: I think they want to ignore the letter as they have done before in the case of other protests against the Guantanamo prison; I think it is one indication that there is a growing opposition. There is a very clear debate within the administration between the hardliners who want to keep the prison open and functioning as it is and those who want to close it down because of the political embarrassment. So I think we will see in the next few months which side will win the debate.
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An interview with Reese Erlich, a freelance foreign journalist in California
Question: 145 members of the House of Representatives have sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay and move detainees to military prisons in the US, why do they insist on closing Guantanamo?
Answer: Well, it's a reflection of a growing opinion both inside the US and internationally that Guantanamo is illegal, immoral, violates international law and it's a political embarrassment for the Bush administration.
The US proclaims itself as the upholder of democracy around the world and criticizes Iran and other governments for allegedly jailing people without trial or giving people unfair trials. Yet, this example of Guantanamo stands up lately, imprisoned people there have no means to take their cases before the US courts or otherwise get a fair hearing about the accusations against them. It's just one more indication of how isolated the Bush administration is on this issue.
Question: Could we consider the closure of Guantanamo detention facilities as a positive first step towards restoring US international reputation as the so-called leader of democracy and individual rights or not?
Answer: Well, I think, that reputation has been damaged pretty badly and even closing Guantanamo is not going to repair the damage that has been done. I think it would be an important first step certainly for the people of Guantanamo and it would be a very significant defeat for the Bush administration.
The US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about the detainees in the last couple of days and this has been interpreted to mean that the Supreme Court may yet again rule the actions of the Bush administration as illegal.
Question: There was only one Republican in the group. Why didn't other Republicans support the closure of Guantanamo?
Answer: I think there are a variety of reasons. One is I think they really do believe that it's ok to imprison and torture people. Two, they think it's politically dangerous for them.
Because if the Guantanamo is closed and all prisoners are moved to the US, then for sure, the US courts will most certainly exercise the right to review the cases and that's going to prove even more embarrassing because a lot of these people are in truth being held without much evidence and most of them will come out innocently.
Question: How do you explain the approach of presidential candidates both Republicans and Democrats towards the maintenance or closure of Guantanamo?
Answer: The major candidates from both parties have not taken a very good position on this issue. They have not called for the complete closure of Guantanamo. I think that's because they're afraid of being seen soft on terrorism or they are not being patriotic or something like that. I think it's a serious problem among the major candidate.
Question: But could talking against Guantanamo be an important and positive point for presidential hopefuls or are there other issues which have greater significance for the American people?
Answer: Well I think it is a bit complicated. The majority of American people are very strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. Many call for closing Guantanamo but the politicians are not willing to even represent that majority's viewpoint. Because in the US supposedly we have democracy but politicians often don't care about the will of the people. So I think they perceive that if they take stand and oppose Guantanamo they will be attacked for somehow supporting Osama Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda or something like that.
Question: How was the reaction of the Bush administration to this letter and how do you predict the possibility of the closure of Guantanamo?
Answer: I think they want to ignore the letter as they have done before in the case of other protests against the Guantanamo prison; I think it is one indication that there is a growing opposition. There is a very clear debate within the administration between the hardliners who want to keep the prison open and functioning as it is and those who want to close it down because of the political embarrassment. So I think we will see in the next few months which side will win the debate.
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