The argument, of course, for closing Gitmo is not to let a swarm of suspected terrorists back into the public. If Gitmo were closed, its detainees would obviously go somewhere else. It is to perform a symbolic action that says that we are a country governed by rule of law, and one that listens to the feedback of our allies. Our practices of holding detainees indefinitely, without charge, without access to a lawyer, has drawn the ire of our staunchest ally, The United Kingdom, among others. The argument goes that shutting down Gitmo would remove a major piece of propaganda that is being used by our enemies to discredit our cause. For example, how can we be serious about spreading liberty when we operate a detention camp beyond the law? Personally, I'm not too big on symbolic acts. I'm all for establishing clear guidelines for the treatment of POWs, as well as honoring our previous commitments and military tradition in this regard, but I'm not sure that closing Gitmo is going to help anything. What is really needed is some leadership on the subject of the treatment of detainees from the Bush Administration. But I'll spare you all another rant on this subject.
