Five Years and Counting in Cuba
There's still little clarity on the legal status of Guantánamo–and its prisoners
Additionally, the courts, which have frequently shown unease with the Bush administration's broad claim for authority over detainees, clearly aren't done weighing in. A United States District Court ruled last month that the Military Commissions Act did indeed strip detainees of habeas corpus rights. But lawyers for the detainees contend their clients have a constitutional right to habeas corpus that cannot be eliminated by statute. That claim will be evaluated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose decision has been pending for more than a year as the court adjusts to the changing laws. Whatever the decision, all sides say the issue is bound for the Supreme Court.
Limbo. The wait has been galling to Fawzi al-Odah's father, Khalid, a former Kuwaiti Air Force colonel who claims his son was only doing charity work in Pakistan when he was seized. "We understand, after 9/11, the swift reaction of the administration was acceptable for a certain time but not for five years," he says. Fawzi is an unlikely candidate for a military commission, but there is also no indication of when, if ever, he could be released.
For his part, President Bush has publicly expressed a desire eventually to mothball the Guantánamo facility, which has damaged America's human rights reputation abroad and complicated relations with allies. But emptying Guantánamo Bay is not a simple matter, since there are concerns that some countries might torture returned detainees or let go those the United States still sees as threats. Other nations have simply refused to take their citizens back. "A number of these people may be in limbo," says John Radsan, a former assistant general counsel at the CIA and the director of the National Security Forum at the William Mitchell College of Law.
Activity at the base remains brisk. Last month, the first detainees moved into a new $37 million, maximum-security building, called Camp 6. And officials hope the proposed courtroom complex, which could cost up to $125 million, will be ready to hold multiple trials as early as July. According to the Pentagon's instructions for submitting a bid for the project, the courtroom buildings must be designed to last at least 30 years.
"If anything, it doesn't look like it's closing down over there," says Oregon public defender Patrick Ehlers, whose office represents several detainees. "It looks like they're digging in."
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