On August 10th, 2016 I received a letter from the White House by the executive office of the President of the United States regarding my letter to him. I sent President Barack Obama a letter concerning some serious concerns that I had towards the treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in the Republic of Cuba. Thankfully, the White House responded as to my letter to him.
Original Title
Letter from President Barack Obama regarding the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station
On August 10th, 2016 I received a letter from the White House by the executive office of the President of the United States regarding my letter to him. I sent President Barack Obama a letter concerning some serious concerns that I had towards the treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in the Republic of Cuba. Thankfully, the White House responded as to my letter to him.
On August 10th, 2016 I received a letter from the White House by the executive office of the President of the United States regarding my letter to him. I sent President Barack Obama a letter concerning some serious concerns that I had towards the treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in the Republic of Cuba. Thankfully, the White House responded as to my letter to him.
‘THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August 10, 2016
Mr. Isaiah X. Smith
Fort Worth, Texas
Dear Isaiah:
‘Thank you for writing. For many years, it’s been clear to our military leaders and
intelligence officials that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay undermines our national
security. It provides a propaganda too! for terrorists, harms our partnerships with allies, drains
hundreds of millions of dollars in military resources, and contradicts the values America stands for.
‘When I first ran for this Office, there was bipartisan support to close Guantanamo, so 1
began that process in one of my first acts as President, Unfortunately, many who previously said it
should be closed ended up backing away from that commitment because they were worried about
the politics. Still, we've made progress—of the nearly 800 detainees once held at Guantanamo, less
than 100 remain. And each detainee transferred since I took Office has been under significant
restrictions to keep them from returning to the battlefield.
In February, the Department of Defense submitted to Congress our plan for finally closing
the facility at Guantanamo, along with a strategy for how to best address terrorists we capture in the
future, We'll continue to review the threat posed by current detainees and transfer eligible
detainees to countries with strong security measures. We'll use all available legal tools to deal with
the remaining detainees, including prosecution in military commissions and in our Federal courts,
which have a proven record of convicting the most hardened terrorists. Finally, we're going to
work with Congress to find a secure location in the United States to hold the small number of
remaining detainees who cannot be transferred or prosecuted at this time.
Tam clear-eyed about the hurdles to closing Guantanamo, but given the stakes involved for
our security, this plan deserves a fair hearing. I also understand that a lot of Americans are worried
about terrorism. We protect our Nation by going after terrorists with all means available to us,
including by capturing them, trying them, and putting them in our maximum security prisons. And
no person has ever escaped from a super-max or military prison in the United States. I want to be
clear that this plan does not include letting known terrorists loose to fight against us or to recruit
from our general prison population, and closing the detention facility would not end our ongoing
defense operations at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.
‘Again, thank you for writing. I don’t want to pass this problem on to the next President,
With this plan, we have the opportunity to eliminate a terrorist propaganda tool, strengthenrelationships with allies and partners, enhance our national security, and uphold the values that,
define us as Americans. I'm absolutely committed to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo,
and I’m going to continue to make the case for doing so as long as I hold this Office.
Sincerely,