For years, critics have demanded the closing of the U.S.-run terrorist-detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They say the admitted and likely terrorists there should be tried in U.S. civilian courts, with the due-process rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens by our Constitution. Or, they say, the detainees should be turned over to other nations.
But there are excellent reasons why the terrorists should remain at “Gitmo” and face military tribunals.
First, they were captured as non-uniformed enemy combatants overseas. As such, they are not entitled to full U.S. constitutional protections.
Second, many of the detainees who have been removed from Gitmo have engaged in terrorism afterward.
The office of the Director of National Intelligence has reviewed the cases of nearly 600 Gitmo detainees who were transferred out of the facility and handed over to other nations. More than 25 percent of them are “confirmed or suspected of reengaging in terrorist or insurgent activities,” the office reported in its latest assessment. Most of the released detainees are “confirmed” as having committed such acts, rather than merely “suspected” of doing so.