The Guantánamo Bay Naval Station is located in an isolated area at the southeastern tip of the island of Cuba . The U.S. Navy has had a presence at Guantánamo Bay Cuba since 1903. Until recently, it was best known as a holding facility during times of large migration outflows from the Caribbean to the United States . It has now become home to foreign detainees in the "war on terrorism."

In January 2002 the Southern Command, by Executive Order of the President, was given responsibility for the custody of "war on terror" detainees. Southcom established its operation at Guantánamo Bay . Responsibility for the custody and interrogation of detainees is under a unit called Joint Task Force (JTF) 160/170. As of November 2002, 625 detainees were being held. [ 1 ] Reports indicate that most are accused of being Al Qaeda members or Taliban captured in Afghanistan .

According to a JTF 160 press release (which later combined functions with JTF 170) the unit had 850 U.S. forces from five branches in Guantánamo "to support security operations." [ 2]

In January 2002 a temporary detention facility, " Camp X-Ray ," was established. It was replaced in April 2002 by " Camp Delta ," a more permanent facility. [ 3 ]

Opened on April 29 th , 2002, Camp Delta is composed of at least six separate detention camps. Including, three separate maximum-security centers, a lower-security juvenile detention facility and a state of the art hospital for detainees and staff. As of January 28, 2005 Camp Delta accommodates approximately 545 detainees. [4] When finished with all proposed expansions Camp Delta is expected to be able to process and house approximately 2,000 inmates.

There has been an enormous amount of controversy concerning the legal status of these “enemy combatant” detainees and the apparent lack of judicial due process in their imprisonment. There have been two Supreme Court rulings in relation to enemy combatants in Guantánamo. In the first case, 03-6696 Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Hamdi did have the right to challenge his status as enemy combatant before a neutral decision maker [5]. In the second case, 03-334 Rasul v. Bush, the Court ruled that “ United States courts have jurisdiction to consider challenges to the legality of the detention of foreign nationals captured abroad in connection with hostilities and incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay .” [6] This ruling countered the U.S. Administration's previous claim that because Guantánamo Bay was only leased and controlled by the United States and ultimate sovereignty of the territory belonged to Cuba , U.S. courts should not have jurisdiction.

In response to the ruling, on July 2, 2004, the Department of Defense announced the creation of the Combatant Status Review Tribunal for detainees held at Guantánamo Bay , Cuba . [7] The tribunal was to serve as a forum for inmates to challenge their status as enemy combatants. The legality of these Tribunals was challenged on November 8, 2004 when Federal Judge James Robertson found that the Tribunals could not be considered a “competent” tribunal because it was lacking sufficient protection for the defendant's rights. As a result he ordered the military commission trial to be halted until the detainee's status could be properly determined. [8] Judge Robertson also ruled that “unless a competent tribunal determines that the petitioner is not entitled to protections afforded prisoners of war under Article 4 of the Geneva Convention”, the detainee could not be tried by a military commission. Administration officials immediately announced they would file an emergency stay on the Judge's ruling and would file an appeal. In their appeal they argue that the President did act within his authority as Commander in Chief in properly determining that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to Al Qaeda affiliates. Since then two more federal judges have ruled on the detainees in Guantánamo. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, ruled that the detainees have no constitutional rights and therefore their lawsuits challenging the condition of their imprisonment should be dismissed. Two weeks later on January 31, 2005, U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green, ruled that the approximately 550 detainees held as enemy combatants had been denied some of the most basic rights, such as to consult with an attorney and confront evidence against them in fair hearings. [9] Both cases are currently being processed by the U.S. Court of Appeals and will likely appear on the docket of the Supreme Court.

"Gitmo" as it is often called, is the oldest U.S. base outside of the continental United States . The U.S. Navy has maintained a presence at Guantánamo since 1903, when the area was acquired as a coaling and naval station. The original lease agreement signed between U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and Cuban President Estrada Palma gave the United States "the right to exercise complete jurisdiction and control within and over the area. In turn, the United States recognized the ultimate sovereignty of Cuba over the leased areas." [10] This original agreement was reaffirmed by a treaty signed in 1934 by President Franklin Roosevelt.

The lease on the Guantánamo property is perpetual, with no termination date or fixed number of years. The land can revert to Cuban control only if abandoned or by mutual agreement, neither of which has occurred. Fidel Castro's assumption of power in Cuba in 1959 did not change the status of the Guantánamo Bay base; the naval station may be the only permanent overseas U.S. presence within a country that U.S. foreign policy regards as hostile. For decades the base's perimeter has been guarded by barbed wire, land mines and other measures. The land mines surrounding the base were removed in 1998.

Links:

• Media Availability with Commander, U.S. Southern Command General James T. Hill, June 3, 2004

Sources:

1. U.S. Department of Defense, Joint Task Force 160-170, Press Release #160, November 4, 2002, "Major General Miller takes command of Joint Task Force 160/170,"
http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/JTF-160/PresRel/26.html

2. U.S. Department of Defense, Joint Task Force 160-170, Press Release #160, "Camp X-Ray Receives Second Group of Detainees," April 9, 2002, http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/JTF-160/PresRel/2.htm

3. U.S. Department of Defense, Joint Task Force 160-170, Press Release #160, "End of an Era," August 5, 2002, http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/JTF-160/PresRel/23.html

4. U.S. Department of Defense, News Release No. 079-05, January 28, 2005, Transfer of Australian Detainee Complete, http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20050128-2028.html

5. Legal Information Institute, Supreme Court Collection, HAMDI V. RUMSFELD (03-6696) http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-6696.ZO.html

6. Legal Information Institute, Supreme Court Collection, RASUL V. BUSH (03-334), http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-334.ZS.html

7. U.S. Department of Defense, News Release No. 651-04, July 7, 2004, Combatant Status Review Tribunal Order Issued, http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2004/nr20040707-0992.html

8. U.S. District Courts For The District of Colombia, Civil Action No. 04-1519 (JR), http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/04-1519.pdf

9. Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post, February 1, 2005, Judge Rules Detainee Tribunals Illegal , http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51007-2005Jan31.html?sub=AR

10. U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba , April 1998, http://www.nmimc.med.navy.mil/gitmo/NAVBASE/navbase1.htm