[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S132-S134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Guantanamo Bay

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, 20 years ago today, a C-141 Starlifter 
made its final descent toward a naval base in the Caribbean. As the 
plane landed, two white schoolbuses waited on the apron, together with 
a swarm of military humvees and a large contingent of armed soldiers.
  The plane door opened, and the passengers were offloaded. Heads 
shaven, legs shackled, the passengers were removed from the plane one 
by one, each wearing the same identical outfit: a fluorescent orange 
jumpsuit, a matching ski cap, and earmuff-style noise protectors. Some 
were also wearing blackout goggles over their eyes to completely 
deprive them of any sentient experience.
  This was the scene as the first 20 detainees were hauled off to 
Guantanamo

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Bay 4 months to the day after September 11 and the hideous terrorist 
attacks.
  That afternoon, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assured 
the public and made a statement. Listen to his words carefully. This is 
what the Secretary said:

       We do plan to, for the most part, treat [the detainees] in 
     a manner that is reasonably consistent with the Geneva 
     Conventions.

  Madam President, that Orwellian double-talk kicked off a 20-year saga 
at Guantanamo Bay, a chapter in American history that it is time to 
close.
  As we now know, the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay was 
deliberately created to avoid the requirements of the Geneva 
Conventions and other time-honored treaties that America used to brag 
about being party to. In the words of one senior official in the Bush 
administration, Guantanamo exists ``in the legal equivalent of outer 
space.'' The facility was designed to be a legal black hole, where 
detainees could be held incommunicado, beyond the reach of laws, beyond 
public scrutiny, and subjected to torture and unspeakable abuse. It is 
where due process goes to die.
  Perhaps the most shameful lie surrounding the creation of 
Guantanamo's detention facility was that it would help deliver justice 
to the families of the thousands of Americans who died on 9/11.
  In March 2002, then-President George W. Bush delivered a speech 
before Congress where he promised that the terrorists who attacked 
America on 9/11 would ``not escape the justice of this nation.'' Yet, 
two decades later, the families who lost loved ones that day are still 
awaiting justice. The case against the alleged 9/11 coconspirators has 
not been resolved. In fact, it has not even gone to trial 20 years 
later. At this very moment, those terror suspects are sitting in cells 
in Guantanamo without any resolution in sight.
  Think about how the world has changed since September 11, 2001. Osama 
bin Laden has been hunted down. The war in Afghanistan, our Nation's 
longest war, is over. Four Presidents--four different Presidents--have 
presided over the facility at Guantanamo Bay. But despite all these 
changes and all this history, one tragic truth remains: America has 
failed to provide closure to the families of the victims who suffered 
those unimaginable losses on September 11, and that is simply because 
Guantanamo was never intended to deliver justice.
  If justice delayed is justice denied, Guantanamo speaks for itself, 
and the documented history of Guantanamo Bay cannot be disputed.
  Last month, the Judiciary Committee, which I chair, held a hearing on 
closing Guantanamo Bay finally, once and for all. One of the witnesses 
who was particularly touching was Colleen Kelly, whose brother Bill 
died in the North Tower on 9/11. During her testimony, she said:

       Five men stand accused in the military commissions at 
     Guantanamo of responsibility for planning and supporting the 
     9/11 attacks. Today . . . a trial has not even begun. 
     Instead, family members have heard years of argument in pre-
     trial hearings. While these hearings have produced no legal 
     justice for 9/11, they have revealed the shocking role of 
     torture in undermining [any] 9/11 prosecution.

  At the end of her testimony, Ms. Kelly said:

       My brother Bill was killed in what was likely the most 
     public event in human history. My family does not have any of 
     my brother's remains, nor do one-third of 9/11 families.

  She said directly to us:

       I am asking this Committee and the Biden Administration to 
     deliver the next best thing--a resolution to the 9/11 
     Military Commission that provides answers to our questions, 
     accountability for unlawful acts, justice too long denied, 
     and a path to closing Guantanamo.

  When Ms. Kelly spoke before the committee, she wasn't just speaking 
for her family; she was speaking for our Nation.
  For 20 years, Guantanamo Bay has defied our constitutional values and 
the rule of law. It has actually weakened our national security. It 
costs us dearly--morally, monetarily.
  Listen to the subsidy which American taxpayers give to Guantanamo 
Bay. It is a subsidy that subverts justice. Today, most Americans 
couldn't answer this question: How many detainees are there in 
Guantanamo? Thirty-nine. Taxpayers spend $550 million a year to keep 
that facility open. Do the math. That is almost $14 million per year on 
each prisoner.
  Moreover, two-thirds of the remaining prisoners have never been 
charged with any crime. That is right--never charged. Yet they are 
being detained indefinitely, in violation of our basic constitutional 
principles.
  Of the 27 uncharged men, more than half of them have already been 
approved for transfer. Think of that. Some have been approved for 
years. Another was approved just yesterday. These individuals are 
languishing in Guantanamo for no justifiable reason and contrary to any 
notion of liberty or justice.
  Every day Guantanamo remains open is a victory for our Nation's 
enemies. It is a symbol of our failure to hold terrorists accountable 
and our failure to honor the sacrifices of our servicemembers. These 
failures should not be passed on to another generation. They should end 
with the Biden administration.
  Last fall, I introduced an amendment to the National Defense 
Authorization Act to close Guantanamo. It was ambitious, I know, but it 
was a goal that I felt is most consistent with who we are as Americans 
and what we say about justice. I was disappointed that the Senate 
didn't take up any amendments literally or this amendment particularly. 
Instead, it voted once again to prohibit the use of Federal funds to 
transfer Guantanamo detainees to the United States and made it even 
harder to transfer detainees to foreign countries willing to accept 
them. That just delays the Guantanamo experience even longer.
  But let me be clear, even with these legislative restrictions in 
place, there is more the Biden administration can and must do to 
accelerate the closure of Guantanamo.
  First, the administration should repatriate or resettle the 14 
detainees who have been cleared for transfer. There is no excuse, none, 
for any further delay, which is why President Biden should appoint a 
special envoy at the State Department to negotiate transfer agreements 
with other nations.
  Additionally, the Biden administration should appoint a senior 
official within the White House who will be accountable for leading the 
process of closing Guantanamo.
  Finally, the Justice Department should bring its legal positions in 
alignment with President Biden's stated goal of closing Guantanamo in 
his first term. The Department has yet to correct course on a number of 
troubling legal positions, including failing to acknowledge that our 
Constitution's due process clause applies to prisoners held in 
Guantanamo.
  It is time to stop hiding from our values. Our Federal courts have 
proven more than capable of handling even the most serious and complex 
terrorism cases. They have done so swiftly and efficiently.
  Since 9/11, hundreds of terrorism suspects have been tried and 
convicted in our Federal court system. Many are now being held safely 
in Federal prisons. Meanwhile, as I mentioned, the case against alleged 
conspirators in the 9/11 attacks still has not come to trial. In the 
face of unimaginable horror, such as the attacks on the World Trade 
Center and the Pentagon, we must turn to our system of justice to hold 
our enemies accountable. Legal black holes like Guantanamo are anathema 
to American values and accountability.
  One of the military officials who testified in last month's hearing 
was Michael Lehnert. He was the very first commandant at the facility 
at Guantanamo. Where does he stand today on that facility? He is 
calling publicly for its swift closure.
  During his testimony, General Lehnert said that ``most of America has 
forgotten about Guantanamo. But hear me when I tell you that our 
enemies have not. Closing Guantanamo responsibly restores the 
reputation of America,'' the general said, ``ensures accountability for 
those who have committed crimes against us, and provides closure for 
the families of those they have harmed.''
  By allowing Guantanamo to remain open, we are giving our enemies the 
power to define who America is. It is time to reclaim that power and 
prove to the world that America is not a nation defined by our darkest 
moments.

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We are a nation defined by our values. Let us start living up to them.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Murphy). The Senator from Mississippi.