Very briefly, in another example the military gets that we’re in a war of perceptions and ideas, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wants to close Gitmo. From the Associated Press:
The chief of the U.S. military said he favors closing the prison here as soon as possible because he believes negative publicity worldwide about treatment of terrorist suspects has been "pretty damaging" to the image of the United States.
"I’d like to see it shut down," Adm. Mike Mullen said Jan. 13 in an interview with three reporters who toured the detention center with him on his first visit since becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last October….
Asked why he thinks Guantanamo Bay… Mullen said, "More than anything else it’s been the image – how Gitmo has become around the world, in terms of representing the United States."
…. closing GITMO does not stop the actions from taking place out of sight. It’s not a solution.
The biggest foreseeable problem here is that if shutting down GITMO is supposed to enhance the image of the US and its military justice system, then what do you do with its current residents.While GITMO has an image problem, simply shutting the doors is not going to solve this. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for a permanent solution to the housing of non-combatant detainees takes to eventuate.