Extraordinary renditions in Guantanamo Bay (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: USA, grade: 16, University of Brussel, language: English, abstract: According to the constructivits' point of view, states would tend to avoid behaving in ways that are legally unjustifiable. However, this theory does not seem to be internationally respected. The most striking example would be the United States, commonly known as a law-breaker, law-avoider and law-defector. Its law-breaker position can be, for instance, very well illustrated by the Guantanamo Bay issue, which has ineradicably become synonymous with torture. Indeed, this subject has caused much controversy and debates are still straddling. It became the centre of international attention in 2002 when horrible images and video recordings showing the most degrading forms of abuse commited at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba were diffused by the media and spread across the entire world.

Why? The Bush administration had decided after the 9/11 attacks that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 would not apply to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Instead, the latter were (even) deprived of the basic human living conditions.

What about the Obama administration today? Has the situation improved after the president announced his intention to close Guantanamo? Which consequences would the closure give way to? What happens to the detainees? This paper will deal with the evolution of the Guantanamo Bay issue from the Bush administration until the current Obama presidency.