Barack Obama has wanted to close Guantanamo Bay since he was Senator Obama, but that’s one campaign promise on which he hasn’t followed through. Guantanamo Bay remains active, though Obama has succeeded in reducing the number imprisoned there, sending them elsewhere. Only sixty-one inmates remain in Gitmo, while the prison had a peak population of 684 in 2003.
Hillary Clinton had promised to continue the Obama legacy, which undoubtedly included attempting to close Gitmo. In fact, she backed closing the prison on the campaign trail. For that reason, when it became clear that Donald Trump was going to be the next POTUS, the prisoners in Gitmo reacted the same way many liberals did: like it was the end of the world.
As the Washington Free Beacon reported: Prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba “thought it was the end of the world” the night of the presidential election and asked their guards for tranquilizers and sleeping pills, CBS correspondent Margaret Brennan reported Thursday.
David Remes, the lawyer of one of the prisoners at Guantanamo, recounted to Brennan what his client told him about election night.
“He said that many detainees thought that it was the end of the world and felt terrible and that many detainees asked for tranquilizers, sleeping pills because they were so distraught,” Remes said. Remes said he is afraid that once Donald Trump officially becomes president, the doors will “slam shut” and remaining detainees will not be able to be released.
In all fairness, while liberals were hysterical following The Donald’s victory, these prisoners may actually have something to worry about.[Note: This post was written by The Analytical Economist]
