Guantanamo: the end

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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REVIEW AND DISPOSITION OF INDIVIDUALS DETAINED AT THE GUANTÁNAMO BAY NAVAL BASE AND CLOSURE OF DETENTION FACILITIES

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to effect the appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained by the Department of Defense at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base (Guantánamo) and promptly to close detention facilities at Guantánamo, consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice, I hereby order as follows:

[...]

Sec. 3. Closure of Detention Facilities at Guantánamo. The detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order. If any individuals covered by this order remain in detention at Guantánamo at the time of closure of those detention facilities, they shall be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third country, or transferred to another United States detention facility in a manner consistent with law and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States...

And with the flick of a pen, seven years of lawlessness and torture is brought to an end. That doesn't mean the struggle to restore the rule of law in the US is over - there's going to be a lot of screaming over there when they realise that the Bush Administration's mistreatment will mean that some of the most important prisoners will never be able to face trial. But its a good, solid start.

(Oh, and he's banned torture and closed the black sites too...)

Now all we need are prosecutions of those responsible for the revoked policies...