When I have something I want to get rid of, I put it in a box and set it out by the rubbish bins. The homeless people in the neighborhood may want it, or maybe somebody who isn’t homeless will want it. One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure, or something like that. If nobody wants it, the trash collectors will pick it up.
In any event, it is not my problem any more and I walk away relieved. It’s kind of like the feeling you have after taking a long needed dump, but in an emotional and spiritual sense, rather than a physical one.
That’s one way in which Barack Obama could close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he outranks everybody. He can give a direct order to a General, or a Sergeant, or a Private.
Guantanamo Bay – Without All the Barbed Wire and Shit
So, he orders all of the soldiers at Guantanamo to report for duty elsewhere. Somewhere in the U.S. would be easiest but it doesn’t matter. He orders all ships in Guantanamo Harbor back to American ports. Just abandon Guantanamo.
Inform the Cubans, of course. They can come by the next morning, open up the cages and let everybody go free if they want to. They can either make arrangements to repatriate those individuals to their native countries, or integrate them into Cuban society. There are only a hundred or so of them, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
I suppose it’s theoretically possible that the Cubans would keep it going as a prison, if they see those people as a threat. I doubt they would do that, because they would relish the chance to make America look bad. In any event, it would not be our problem any more. We could just walk away, lighter. Think of it as a reverse Mariel boat lift.
Some might think this is unfair to the Cubans, even an aggressive act, but think of what Cuba would get out of the deal: Guantanamo Bay, which is theirs anyway, it’s on their island, and they could probably develop it into a nice little port, a new Havana on the south coast, a pleasant place for tourists and a boon to their economy.
The more jingoistic and militaristic Americans might lament the loss of a naval base, but it’s not one that we really need for anything, unless we are planning an invasion of the Bahamas (which would be a bad idea). We are never going to get Cuba back. At some point, we just have to admit it. Castro won.
So, just walk away from Guantanamo. Let it go. Everybody will feel better.
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