Politics

Guantanamo Bay in 54 Seconds

What Every American Should Know

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Last Tuesday, December 30th, the Pentagon announced five Guantanamo Bay detainees were released and resettled to Kazakhstan.

While Obama is far behind on his promise to close the detention camp, his administration did end 2014 with the most prisoners freed in five years — 28 men.

Next Sunday will mark Guantanamo Bay's 13th year as a prison for terrorist suspects. 

For a quick review check out "Guantanamo Bay in 54 Seconds."

Original release date was January 13, 2014 and the original writeup is below.

January 11, 2014 marked the 12th anniversary of a U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The Bush administration opened the prison to house and interrogate suspected terrorists as a part of the War on Terror.

Since January 2002, 779 men have been brought to Guantanamo Bay's detention camps.

Released detainees claimed that waterboarding, sexual humiliation, and forced drugging were used on prisoners.

Nine men have died in the prison camp and the Department of Defense says six were suicides.

In June 2007, presidential candidate Barack Obama promised, "We're going to close Guantanamo." In 2009, President Obama signed an executive order requiring the camp to to be closed by January 22, 2010.

An estimated 17 to 22 minors under the age of 18 were detained.

Pentagon files released by Wikileaks state that at least 150 prisoners were completely innocent Afghanis and Pakistanis.

The yearly cost for one Guantanamo prisoner is about $800,000. In 2013, 103 detainees went on a hunger strike as protest.

Forty-one were force-fed through tubes running into their noses down to their stomachs.

As of January 13, 2014, Guantanamo Bay's detention camp remains open with 158 detainees.

About 1 minute. Produced by Joshua Swain.

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Reason's coverage on Guantanamo Bay.