Robert Gates began arguing for the shuttering of Guantanamo as soon as he took office as the Secretary of Defense. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has always agreed with him. In May 2006, President Bush told the German press, “I very much would like to end Guantanamo.” In June 2006, he told the American press, “I’d like to close Guantanamo.”
So why is Gitmo still open? What force within the national security apparatus is keeping the Guantanamo Bay prison, a national disgrace and monument to how America has lost its ideals, open for business?
It’s the Vice President’s office, of course. Therein lives Cheney and Cheney’s chief lawyer, David Addington, perhaps the most powerful man in the country when it comes to determining this country’s approach to balancing rights and security.
Gates acknowledged as much when he went before Congress yesterday and reiterated his desire to close Guantanamo, but said he was unable to do so because “I was unable to achieve agreement within the executive branch on how to proceed.”
So if you didn’t know, now you know: everyone in the government, including the Secretary of Defense and the President himself want to close Gitmo, but can’t because Cheney and his minions are powerful enough to keep it from happening.
