Following on from Diane's post yesterday on the Obama promise to close Guantanamo Bay, readers may be interested in an op-ed that I have in today's Irish Times on the complexities of this task. There follows a snippet, with the full op-ed here.
Obama may find the Guantánamo question more complex than anticipated in this period of transition, but that complexity ought not to be allowed to obscure the possibilities for resolution that exist. Neither should a desire to "be different" to the Bush administration obstruct Obama from the difficult and perhaps unpopular decision to hold some individuals without trial if necessary. He and his administration can clearly distinguish themselves from George Bush by ensuring that such decisions are taken on the basis of rigorous and transparent processes rather than agreements behind the door of the Oval Office, and by ensuring that, while detained, individuals are treated with the respect and dignity that their humanity demands.
