The Closing of Guantanamo: Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

It is incredibly disheartening, and somewhat surreal, to begin entertaining the idea that Guantanamo may never actually close. Amy Goodman reported, on Democracy Now, that:

The Obama administration has indicated it could miss a self-imposed January deadline to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. On Thursday, top counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said he can’t “say with certainty” the prison will close on schedule. Brennan made the comments after a speech outlining the Obama administration’s strategy for countering terrorism. Brennan said the US will drop the term “war on terror” in favor of “war on al Qaeda."

While many of us with the 100 Days Campaign and Witness Against Torture realized the difficulty and urgency in closing GITMO, the promising signs of Obama's executive orders on his first day of office seemed to offer some hope. But again we see the political partisanship usurp human rights and the common good. How easy it is to obscure the reality of torture in fear-mongering language and ardent nationalism. Witness Against Torture has given a lot to trying to shut down Guantanamo, Bagram, and end torture. But no matter how depressed and heart-broken we may be because of the short-sightedness of our political leaders and the injustices they perpetuate, we must continue to be present to the suffering of our brothers in Guantanamo. In a spirit of solidarity and compassion, we must not give up. Their hope must give us hope. We do not have the privilege of giving up this fight. Like our banner said that we held at the White House for 100 days, "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied." May Dr. King's words inspire us to recommit ourselves to freeing our brothers in captivity.