The story that resonates with me the most is that of Anita and Sue Lewis. Initially, I had no knowledge of Guantánamo Bay naval base as anything other than a prison for detainees of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Although I found the stories of the refugees enlightening, the Lewis sisters’ storystands out the…

2012: This week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta refused to transfer five Taliban detainees at Guantánamo Bay to Qatar. This announcement comes after weeks of talks, with many U.S. legislators strongly opposing the transfer. The Taliban says it is suspending talks because the U.S. has failed to move forward on its promises. Taliban officials say the…

Bisher al-Rawi’s story absolutely struck me most through the first days of this course. Al-Rawi, an Iraqi citizen who had been living in Great Britain, was detained by the United States for five years starting in 2002 without being charged with a crime, and for four of those years he was imprisoned at Gitmo. While…

2012: Five Guantánamo Bay detainees have agreed to be transferred to Qatar in recent talks between U.S. and Afghanistan governments. While the Afghani government and the detainees have agreed to the transfer, the U.S. has not yet confirmed the move. The five detainees are described as top Taliban officials and include former interior minister Mullah…