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YouDebateIt.com -- Should the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be shut down?
Topic: Should the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be shut down?

Which do you prefer #1 or #2?
Vote below for the better argument.
Opinion #1
Debater: kiwigirl
Where would they go?
I ask, what would the repercussions be of shutting down a facility such as Guantanamo? Where would the (trialed and untrialed) prisoners be held, many of which were potentially involved in terrorist and extremist fundamentalist activities? Yes i agree that the conditions and rights of these people are being violated, but the holding facility at Guantanamo is an important tool in protecting the safety and security of millions of people. It sometimes may be hard to imagine people who are so twisted that they can be the mastermind or even a minion in killing hundreds, or thousands of people, but they exist and i personally would prefer they are kept locked up in the birdcage so that i can fly freely. Give them a fair trial, and stop the torture, but keep the facility open.
Opinion #2
Debater: paraquat99
No "rules" for war, but no war declared. Give Gitmo detainees fair trials.
I predict America will find it CREATED more terrorists/terrorist-sympathizers by locking-up people at Gitmo. That said, it is fairly safe to assume there are some real bad people locked-up there too. But, let's look at this issue from 2 perspectives:

1-CAN YOU HONESTLY HAVE "RULES" FOR WAR? I know the Geneva Convention, etc., etc. But 1) no official war has been declared and 2) the fight is against an organization not a nation-state. Historically, too, the right to haebeus corpus has been suspended during times of insurrection or war (Lincoln during the Civil War) and FDR to a lesser-extent during WW2.

2-DOESN'T THE CONSTITUTION APPLY? Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention a pre-req of being a citizen in order to have the rights preserved by the 4th-8th judicial amendments. Furthermore, the Constitution does not give the executive branch the authority to designate anyone an "enemy combatant" and therefore lock them up without trial.

I say close Gitmo, give accused fair trials.
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