Guantanamo Bay
The facility known as Guantanamo Bay or "Gitmo" started off as a Naval Base in 1898, after the United States took control of Cuba following the Spanish-American War. By 1903 the two nations agreed on peaceful terms and signed the Cuban-American Treaty, which declared peace and recognized Cuba as a sovereign nation. The US was also given a permanent lease for their base through a document called The Platt Amendment.
Guantanamo Bay, which holds the distinction of being the oldest American military base on foreign territory, has had a long and troubled past. Many people felt the Cuban government was forced to sign the treaty of 1903, and that the terms of the lease for the 45-square-mile property were unfair. By 1934 The Platt Amendment was annulled, and another lease was signed by the two countries. This new document increased the amount of money that the US paid Cuba to $2,000 in gold coins annually, and stipulated that both countries must agree before any other changes could be made. Relations between the two nations seemed to improve ... until 1959.
Cuban President Fulgencio Batista played an important part in establishing the revised lease for Guantanamo Bay, but at the beginning of 1959 he was overthrown after a violent revolution. Fidel Castro took power, and made it clear that he felt the US should relinquish their claim to the property. Tensions were high, and American soldiers were soon forbidden from leaving the base and entering any part of Cuba.
In 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a plan that would become known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The purpose was to take Fidel Castro out of power, and it was carried out the following year under the administration of President John F. Kennedy. Despite long term planning, the invasion was a debacle and Cuban troops quickly defeated the American soldiers. Over the next few decades, things got even worse. Fidel Castro made it clear that Cuba wanted the US out, although he has never attempted to drive them away through the use of force.
The purpose of the base has changed dramatically over the years. For a brief time it was utilized as a shelter for refugees from Haitia and Cuba, although most people viewed it as more of a detention facility than a shelter. Eventually Guantanamo Bay was turned into a prison, primarily to hold purported terrorists from Iraq and Afghanistan. As a prison facility, Guantanamo Bay became even more notorious and controversial than ever. By 2004 a full scale inspection was underway to investigate charges of abuse and torture of the prisoners. Guards were accused of several crimes such as sexual humiliation, water boarding and using vicious dogs to threaten detainees. People from all over the world called for the site to be closed down, but American government officials denied that methods of torture were being used. President George W Bush and other top executives claimed that only necessary methods of interrogation were utilized, and they kept the facility running. That, however, will soon change.
On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. One of his first executive orders called for Guantanamo Bay to be shut down within one year. This plan has become the subject of a great deal of controversy, because many people feel that this maximum security prison is essential to prevent terrorists from escaping and attempting to cause harm to the United States. Another major issue that hangs over the intended closure is the fact that the paperwork for the inmates is in such complete disarray. Many of the prisoners have never been officially charged with a crime, and the papers for most of the detainees are out of order, scattered around at multiple locations or just missing. This makes it difficult to determine what exactly should be done with each person, but decisions about their fates are expected to be finalized within the year. At this point, the site that has become known as Gitmo is expected to be closed sometime in 2010.
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