This is intensely embarrassing for the USA. This is preposterous.

I know more than several lawyers who would represent this guy; any one of them would blow this silly court out of the water. Call me! I know a federal judge who would resign his post to help represent you.

Think about this, my friends: When the World Court gets around to accusing Dick Cheney, will they be so petty as to accuse his limo-driver and his Secret Service agents to boot? Lord! Preposterous-yet-deadly Neocons!

It's the conservatives who are the dark, brooding, self-hating pessimists.

If conservatives were optimists who really loved America and had sincere confidence in the American system of justice, then we wouldn't be witnessing such this nightmare in Guantanamo where accused terrorists are treated like they're superhuman monsters with supernatural powers.

Our government is writing a dark, twisted occult novel in Guantanamo.

This is not the work of happy, confident, optimistic, America-loving Christians.

I really do think that rather than seeking the office of President of the United States, George Bush and his entourage should rather have obtained gainful employment as legal advisers to China, North Korea, and Myanmar. It would have been a much better fit, and I think Bush & Co. would have found kindred spirits there. Why they ever decided to govern the U.S. is a mystery to me.

If Obama wins in the fall, what in hell is he going to do with Gitmo? We know what McCain will do... more of the same. But what will an intelligent, compassionate, educated person do with this hellhole?

I honestly have no idea. Has he been asked this question in a debate?

To answer one post here, Obama, should he be president next year, would have to empty Guantanamo of all present prisoners

to make place for the nexte lot, i.e. the whole Bush administration, and then forget them.

"I have faith in America's courts, and I have faith in our JAGs. As President, I will close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions. Our Constitution and our Uniform Code of Military Justice provide a framework for dealing with the terrorists."

Address to the Wilson Center, Washington DC, August 1, 2007

For the record, Clinton has the same basic position. From what I know about McCain, he also believes it should be closed, but I'm not sure if he would reject the Military Commissions Act.

In my haste to respond to the last two posters, I forgot the original intent I had in commenting -- to thank Carol Chodroff. This is why I come to Salon, and even though I am often lazy-minded and thus often side tracked by the deluge of election coverage, this more difficult-to-face stuff (i.e. the undermining of basic American ideals) is likely what history is going to remember about our generation.

It is shameful that we are bickering about fine distinctions between candidates instead of seeing what this election represents -- an opportunity to reject what a Republican administration and largely-Republican congress has done to these ideals. Thanks again, Carol, for your work and for reminding me of the issues that are really important.

Why has this not been a debate and interview topic for our presidential candidates?