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 The president signed
the executive order two days after taking office. Just two days after being sworn in as president, Barack Obama made big news when he reversed one of President Bush's most disputed programs. On January 22nd, President Obama signed an executive order to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The prison is at the U.S. Naval base there, and it was opened in 2001, soon after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. After those attacks, President Bush said that he needed more powers to fight terrorism. These powers included imprisoning foreign citizens suspected of being terrorists, and keeping them in prison without charging them with a crime or giving them a trial. Since then, 775 suspected terrorists have been brought to Guantanamo. Some former prisoners, as well as human rights groups, say that prisoners at Guantanamo have been tortured. President Bush said that the prisoners were not entitled to any trial, or to any protection under the Geneva Conventions -- an international agreement on the treatment of foreign prisoners captured in wartime. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo prisoners are entitled to a trial, and are entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions. Why do you think we need rules about how to treat foreign prisoners captured during wartime? Much of the debate about the treatment of these prisoners has to do with something called "habeas corpus." Let's find out what this is all about. |
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