Letter to the Editor

Close the doors at Guantanamo

First published in print in the Times Union: Monday, January 18, 2010

This week marks the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama's announcement that he plans to close the now-infamous Guantanamo detention camp. Sadly, after the attempted airplane bombing on Christmas Day, the administration decided to continue to hold all Yemeni detainees indefinitely, including those who had been screened and cleared for release.

Our government should not take reactive steps such as this, which is a violation of human rights. We must extricate ourselves from the cycle of torture and indefinite detention every time a terrorist attempts to attack the United States and our perceived interests abroad.

The way to combat terrorism is to stop the use of torture, to charge and prosecute those who may be responsible for acts of terror in our justice system and to close Guantanamo this year.

CARRIE KUEHL

Albany

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You may see this letter on the Times Union website.

About the author: Carrie Kuehl has been a strong defender of human rights for years. She serves as the Coordinator of our Amnesty International Local Group 361 in the Albany area. >

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