Let Go of Guantanamo Bay
The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay will go out of business by the year’s end. So what’s the point of the facility after that? The Cold War and the era of
Jul 31, 2020107.4K Shares3.9M Views
The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay will go out of business by the year’s end. So what’s the point of the facility after that? The Cold War and the era of Fidel Castro are finished, and the Obama administration has been slowly signaling that a new relationship is possible through acts like ending the ban on travel to Cuba. In The Washington Post, Julia Sweig of the Council on Foreign Relations proposes we simply give the base back to Cuba— or, short of that, convert it into an “ideology free zone” to hold talks with Raul Castro’s government about the future of both the base and U.S.-Cuba relations.
“„Returning Guantanamo Bay to full Cuban sovereignty and control is a win for the United States: Aside from the boon to America’s credibility with the Cuban people and throughout Latin America, these first steps would probe the Cuban government’s apparent disposition to use the base as a point of contact with the United States — and gauge the regime’s willingness to move the ball forward even more.
There’s not a real military need for the base, either. It used to be a coaling station when the United States took it during the Spanish-American war. Indeed, when I visited Guantanamo Bay in 2005 and asked what the otherpurposes of the base were, my spirited public affairs guide replied, “Whores.” But even the whoring dried up — I’m not naive enough to believe it stopped— after the Cuban Revolution, and a 50 year wait to be tricking is a really poor national security argument. One mitigating argument I can think of against giving the base back: it temporarily housed thousands of Haitian refugees in the 1990s, but no one was particularly happy about that arrangement. So on balance, the arguments against giving Guantanamo Bay back to the Cubans are
“„a) We might need it as a legal netherworld for the indefinite detention of war-on-terror detainees
“„b) We can’t look weak in front of the Soviet-backed Fidel Castro
“„c) It’s a really beautiful place, especially for getting rip-roaring drunk on rum-based cocktails while the Carribean spray comes in off the cliffs at sunset.
Really only argument c) applies anymore, and there are lots of nice places to get loaded.
Dexter Cooke
Reviewer
Dexter Cooke is an economist, marketing strategist, and orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years of experience crafting compelling narratives that resonate worldwide.
He holds a Journalism degree from Columbia University, an Economics background from Yale University, and a medical degree with a postdoctoral fellowship in orthopedic medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Dexter’s insights into media, economics, and marketing shine through his prolific contributions to respected publications and advisory roles for influential organizations.
As an orthopedic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive knee replacement surgery and laparoscopic procedures, Dexter prioritizes patient care above all.
Outside his professional pursuits, Dexter enjoys collecting vintage watches, studying ancient civilizations, learning about astronomy, and participating in charity runs.
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