An argument for closing the Guantanamo Bay Society in post-9/11 America has been fertile ground for extreme nationalism and, in turn, has produced a fear of terrorism that has become a key concern for the United States. With three in five Americans fearing attacks by foreign or domestic terrorists in December 2015 (Russonello), terrorism is now seen as a major threat to Americans. Of course, the immediate response to the terrorist attack was retaliation against the “enemy,” and so America invaded the Middle East to root out the terrorists. Yet there is still great controversy over what to do with Guantanamo Bay detainees who are allegedly linked to or members of the terrorist group Al Qaeda. Although the topic is very emotional, it must be kept in mind that keeping Guantanamo Bay open is a violation of the basic human rights of those in the detention center and steps should be taken to close it as quickly as possible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 launched America into immediate retaliation against the radical Islamic fundamentalist group Al Qaeda. Contrary to popular belief, Al Qaeda is more of an ideology derived from Sunni Muslim radicals and their core Islamic belief system rather than an actual organization. During its peak, they served as a “venture capital firm,” providing contacts and distributing advice to other militant groups and individuals in the Islamic world (Burke). Then-President George W. Bush addressed the Taliban directly to ask them to stop protecting Al Qaeda and hand over anyone affiliated with the terrorist group to the U.S. military. There was no specific or decisive reason why the Taliban refused to do so, although some argue that this was due to poor US negotiating skills. But when the Taliban refused, the United States attacked the Taliban and Al Qaeda with missiles and airstrikes. 10,000 alleged Al Qaeda members were captured, of which 1,000 were later sent to Guantanamo Bay (Yin) detention camp. The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as "Gitmo" or "Guantanamo", is a US military prison located on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The camp was created after 9/11 to detain terrorists. The location of Guantanamo was chosen for the reasons that Tung Yin, an associate professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, lists in his article, “End the War. of terrorism, one terrorist at a time”: Cuba is on the other side of the world, apart from Afghanistan, surrounded by water, and since it was technically “outside” US territory, they believed they were immune to judicial scrutiny. To some extent, this will prove to be true when examining the treatment of detainees through the Geneva Convention and international law. After the makeshift X-Ray camp, which held detainees in wire cages for 23 hours a day, the first camp established was Camp Delta in 2002. It took ten. million dollars to create and has several subfields with different levels of security for each group. Subsequently, two more camps were built, the construction of which required 25 million dollars (Yin). Since its creation, it was understood that Gitmo would be temporary, with President Bush stating that he would eventually want to shut it down (Myers). . However, it still functions as a detention camp today, which brings division intoacross the nation as to whether this is good or bad. Generally, those who oppose closing Guantanamo argue that the risk of recidivism in released detainees is too great, while those who favor closure argue that holding people who pose no threat will be seen as "undesirable" and would be difficult convince them otherwise (Yin). There are also problems the camp has with allegations of torture and also the violation of detainees' right to due process (Ivey). According to a poll conducted by CNN last March, the American public continues to oppose President Obama's plan to close Gitmo with a percentage of 56%, while 40% are in favor. The opposition is also largely Republican, with 83% against (LoBianco). As Donald Trump runs as the Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election, he promises to invest even more in the field (Welna). However, during the 2008 presidential election, both Obama and McCain agreed that closing Guantánamo was something they would like to see accomplished (Myers). From the research conducted, the optimal choice would be to permanently close Guantanamo Bay, as the issues regarding the treatment of detainees and their right to trial are much more complex and logical to close than the fear that keeps Gitmo open. First, the allegations of torture sparked a “public outcry,” as Matthew Ivey stated in his article “Framework for Closing Guantanamo Bay.” This is usually the first thing that comes to people's minds when they think about the treatment of prisoners. Cases of serious abuse have been reported, although it should be kept in mind that these reports may be exaggerated. In Camp Delta, inmates are said to have suffered abuses such as beatings, interrogation at gunpoint, shackling like animals, sexual humiliation, dousing with chemical solvents, etc. (Yin). Tung Yin also added that the required time for prisoners to stay outside, which is one to two hours, is less than the 6-8 hours that death row prisoners can stay outside. There were also other reports describing subjects deprived of food, exposed to extreme temperatures, hot or cold, threatened by German Shepherds, and the CIA even admitted in 2008 to using water boarding on three occasions (Ivey). Prison staff even force-fed prisoners on hunger strike, which is prohibited under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. The detainees were secured at the ankles, wrists, shoulders, a belt around the knees and a headrest. But according to the 2006 Department of Defense medical instructions and the US Bureau of Prisons regulations, this is permissible (Rubenstein). And secondly, the process that these inmates face, or rather the lack of it, can also be met with controversy. Those taken to Guantánamo are held there "indefinitely", even Bush has stated that the facility is a "legal black hole" (Ivey) and that neither Al Qaeda nor the Taliban can be granted prisoner of war status (Yin ). Scholars, however, argue that at least the Taliban should be considered for prisoner of war status since the Bush administration directly targeted them for war. And if a detainee were able to go to trial, he may not have been able to be present or review all the evidence against him because of the Military Commission system established by Bush. Furthermore, statements made under torture cannot be used in a trial, but if they are made in such a way that "what the degree of coercion is is disputed" they can be used (Ivey)..