Dear Senator McCain: The America I believe in would close Guantanamo

The America I believe in would close Guantanamo

Dear Tracy, Why is Senator John McCain leading the charge to keep Guantanamo open forever? A former POW and torture survivor, he has long said Guantanamo must close. "I believe we should close Guantanamo," he said in 2008. "Our great power does not mean that we can do whatever we want, whenever we want." I'm disappointed by his turnaround, but I know it's no coincidence. We finally have momentum on closing Guantanamo — 27 men have been transferred out in the last three months. And that's bringing out the fear-mongers: those who want to use Guantanamo for political football, to score points off of public fear, promote hate and perpetuate a global "forever war." Tell Senator McCain: Don't play the politics of fear. Oppose legislation that would keep Guantanamo open forever. Senator McCain is supporting new legislation that could keep Guantanamo open forever by effectively barring the transfer of any of the 122 men still there, including 54 men cleared for transfer by the government years ago. Some supporters of the legislation even hope to keep Guantanamo open to take new detainees — men who are captured on the "global battlefield" as part of a "war" that just keeps going. Tomorrow, the congressional committee Senator McCain heads is holding a hearing on Guantanamo and this legislation. The hearing could flood public debate on Guantanamo with fear-mongering and politically calculated hysterics about national security. And this legislation could undermine more than a decade of Amnesty's work to end indefinite detention at Guantanamo. Tell Senator McCain today: The America I believe in would close Guantanamo. When it comes to closing Guantanamo, our collective commitment to human rights and human dignity is at stake. If we fail in this commitment, the stain on the United States' human rights record could last forever. In solidarity, Naureen Shah Director, Security and Human Rights Program Amnesty International USA