Tomorrow, January 11, 2002, 23 years ago, Guantánamo was opened as a prison for the War on Terror. Its history has been marked by abuse, torture, and indefinite detention.
After a transfer of 11 prisoners this week, only 15 remain of the nearly 800 who were originally detained there. This bold action brings us closer than ever to closing the prison and finally ending this dark chapter in U.S. history.
But as FCNL’s Devra Baxter explains, there is more President Joe Biden should do in the final days of his term.
The situation of the remaining 15 prisoners is complex. Some of them are serving sentences for war crimes. Others are “forever prisoners” who have still never been charged with a crime. The Biden administration is standing in the way of plea deals which military prosecutors offered to 3 of the 4 9/11 defendants. The agreements would offer closure to the victims, take the death penalty off the table, and finally resolve the cases after 12 years of litigation that has been marred by legal issues stemming from the U.S. government’s torture program.
FCNL’s vision of the World We Seek unequivocally opposes “torture and indefinite detention in all circumstances.” Our government’s failure to close Guantanamo and end unlawful, arbitrary, indefinite detention there undermines a society rooted in equity and justice for all.
President-elect Donald Trump is strongly opposed to closing the prison, so now is President Biden’s chance to do the right thing. As Devra put it: “If President Biden really wants to end endless war, he will close Guantánamo.”
Elsewhere
Words of Inspiration from President Jimmy Carter
Together with the rest of the nation, we mourned former President Jimmy Carter this week. Our staff shared quotes from Carter that were meaningful for them:
“My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have, to try to make a difference.”
— Cited by Carter’s niece, 2023
“God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.”
– Nobel Prize Lecture, 2002
“We are a community, a beloved community, all of us. Our individual fates are linked, our futures intertwined. And if we act in that knowledge and in that spirit, together, as the Bible says, we can move mountains.”
— State of the Union, 1978
FCNL General Secretary Bridget Moix joined hundreds of mourners in Congress to pay our last respects. Here is her report.
New Advocacy Team Campaign focuses on Aid, Not Arms
FCNL’s Advocacy Teams launched their new campaign this week, Aid, Not Arms: Opening the Way to Peace in the Middle East. Coming after a full year of advocacy for reining in Pentagon spending, this campaign will see committed activists push Congress to restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNWRA provides life-saving aid to millions of people in Gaza, as well as crucial assistance to Palestinians elsewhere across the Middle East.
If you are interested in joining a team or just leveling up your advocacy skills, join an Introduction to Advocacy training on January 22.
Genocide in Sudan and Sanctions
This week, the State Department finally determined that the Rapid Support Forces, one of the combatants in Sudan, is committing genocide. As a result, they are imposing targeted sanctions on the group’s leadership. FCNL joined partners just last month in encouraging the United States to take this step. This is an important move toward accountability and, hopefully, ending the war.
New Congress Threatens the Safety Net
The 119th Congress was sworn in last week and they’ve been busy since. One of the first things they are doing is working to pass “budget reconciliation” legislation. FCNL’s Katherine Jones explains how this complicated legislative process works and why it matters. The bottom line: This proposed legislation would cut vital programs like health care and food assistance for millions while providing big tax breaks to the wealthy.
