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Essay / Guantánamo Bay
Guantánamo Bay is located on the southeastern tip of Cuba, a small area of land under the possession of the United States. The United States took control of Guantanamo Bay under the Lease Agreement of 1903. This bay serves as a base for the United States Navy and the area is home to the military prison used to contain dangerous criminals and terrorists. The history and use of Guantanamo Bay are unusual elements in United States military history. Although it seems strange that the United States has a prison facility, Guantanamo Bay is a very important detention center. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayGuantanamo Bay was established in 2002 as a facility to house war criminals and facilitate high-level interrogations . The prison is divided into camps, each with a specific objective, and is managed by a task force. In the prison's early days, during the Bush administration of 2004, it was determined that Guantanamo was outside of legal jurisdiction and that prisoners were not even entitled to Geneva Convention rights. After legal battles, the United States Department of Defense issued a memo asserting that the detainees did indeed have Geneva Convention rights granting them protection. Many controversies over Guantanamo Bay's practices have been the subject of speculation, so much so that the United Nations called for its closure in 2009. The closure was ordered due to possible torture suffered by detainees, in violation of United Nations regulations. Once Obama took office in 2009, he immediately ordered Guantanamo Bay suspended for the year. That effort was rejected, but Obama called for the prisoners to be transferred. In 2011, Obama signed the Defense Authorization Bill, which limits the transfer of prisoners to other countries or to the United States. Despite the struggles and controversies, the closure of Guantanamo Bay is very unlikely. Congress would not support the shutdown. Currently, more than a hundred prisoners remain held at Guantanamo Bay. The Guantanamo Bay naval base is used to house prisoners considered war criminals or too dangerous to be tried on the mainland. Today the camp is divided into two areas, Camp Delta and Camp Echo. There was also an X-Ray camp, but it has since been closed and the inmates transferred to Camp Delta. Camp Delta is made up of several subcamps and a psychiatric facility. Each camp at Camp Delta has different characteristics and each area is intended for a different level of prisoner or detainee..