Huffington Magazine Issue 38 | Page 53

ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES HELD AT BAY rush, and have adopted a strategy of throwing up procedural objections that often slow the court’s already glacial pace. Prosecutors, anxious to avoid any possible legal challenges that could come up on appeal, are moving deliberately to make sure they’re dotting every “i” and crossing every “t.” Last month, the Obama administration shuttered the State Department office tasked with planning Guantanamo’s closure. As a result, the vague idea of indefinite detention is looking more specifically like life in prison, at least for those detainees who are HUFFINGTON 03.03.13 not sentenced to death by the military commissions. And with the youngest detainee still in his 20s, Guantanamo could conceivably remain open for decades to come. ‘HAVE A GOOD TIME’ It’s no surprise, then, that as Obama’s second term begins, Guantanamo seems to be putting down roots. Indeed, parts of the naval base have taken on the appearance of a new beachside housing development. Hundreds of homes are currently under construction in neighborhoods with names like Iguana Terrace and Marina Point, to house the growing population of military personnel, civilian contractors and their Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opposed transferring the detainees anywhere else.