It is simply not true that Obama needs Congressional approval to close America's off-shore concentration camp.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 gives the Administration both the legal authority and the practical ability to transfer detainees from Guantanamo back to their home countries. Section 1028 explicitly allows the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretary of State to waive transfer requirements.
The President has backed himself into a corner, and blaming Congress just won't cut it. He has responded to prisoners' desperation with callous disregard. Obama has demonstrated that he has no intention of closing the prison. He has shut down the office working to close the facility. Funds are being allocated to rebuild Camp 7. It is impossible to predict how long the scenario of force-feeding can play out. Many hunger strikers have crossed the threshold beyond recovery (the body starts shutting down after 40 days of starvation; some of these men have denied food since early February). As it stands now, the only way out of their hell-on-earth is in a coffin.
Guantanamo could be closed now -- today. How we step up to the task to force that to happen will determine how WE will be judged.
