Guantanamo Bay: Year 15

January 11th, 2017 marks the 15th year of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. On January 22, 2009, just days after becoming president, Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13492, ordering the closure of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. With only days left before President Elect Donald Trump takes office, 59 detainees remain, and on January 3rd, Trump tweeted: “There should be no further releases from Guantanamo. These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield.” What will happen to the prison and its detainees in the next administration? Will Donald Trump reverse course and increase the number of detainees held there? Will the prison ever close?

New America is pleased to welcome Rosa Brooks, a Senior ASU Future of War Fellow at New America who served as Counselor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Special Coordinator for Rule of Law and Humanitarian Policy in the Pentagon from 2009-2011, Jim Moran, former congressional representative for Virginia’s 8th district and one of the representatives who led opposition to Guantanamo Bay, Thomas B. Wilner, a lawyer with Shearman & Sterling LLP, co-founder of Close Guantanamo, and counsel of record in the Rasul v. Bush and Boumediene v. Bush cases that established Guantanamo detainees’ right to habeas corpus and in the Al Odah v. United States case that established their right to counsel and Andy Worthington, co-founder of Close Guantanamo and the author of The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison for a discussion about what is next for the prison.

Join the conversation online using #GTMO15th and following @NewAmericaISP.

Participants:

Rosa Brooks @brooks_rosa
Senior ASU Future of War Fellow, New America

Jim Moran @Jim_Moran
Former Congressman, Virginia 8th District

Thomas B. Wilner
Co-Founder, Close Guantanamo
Of Counsel, Shearman & Sterling, LLP

Andy Worthington @GuantanamoAndy
Co-Founder, Close Guantanamo
Author, The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison

Moderator:

Peter Bergen @peterbergencnn
Vice President, New America
Director, International Security Program, New America