Cruelbreed
08-13-2009, 12:32 PM
Short history from wikipedia
The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_Naval_Base), established in 1898, surrounds the southern portion of the bay. Since 2002 the base has hosted a detainment camp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp) for people detained by Americans from the Middle East (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East) and from around the world, but specifically not for captives taken in Iraq (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq), who qualify for POW status (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner_of_war). President Barack Obama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama) has given orders that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp) be shut down.
The base, sometimes called "GTMO" or "Gitmo", covers 116 km² (about 45 square miles) on the western and eastern banks of the bay. It was established in 1898 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1898), when the United States obtained control of Cuba from Spain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain) at the end of the Spanish-American War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish-American_War), following the 1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1898_invasion_of_Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay). The U.S. government obtained a 99-year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99-year_lease) lease (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concession_%28territory%29) that began on February 23 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_23), 1903 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903), from Tomás Estrada Palma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1s_Estrada_Palma), a Cuban-born citizen, who became the first President of Cuba. The newly-formed American protectorate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectorate) incorporated the Platt Amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platt_Amendment) in the Cuban Constitution. The Cuban-American Treaty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban-American_Treaty) held, among other things, that the United States, for the purposes of operating coaling and naval stations, has "complete jurisdiction and control" of the Guantánamo Bay, while the Republic of Cuba is recognized to retain ultimate sovereignty.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-3)
After the Cuban Revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution) of 1959, which brought Fidel Castro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro) to power, then-President Dwight Eisenhower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Eisenhower) insisted the status of the base remained unchanged, despite Cuban objections.
In 1934 the Avery Porko treaty reaffirming the lease granted Cuba and its trading partners free access through the bay; modified the lease payment from $2,000 in U.S. gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 in U.S. dollars; and made the lease permanent unless both governments agreed to break it, or the U.S. abandoned the base property.[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-4) Since the Cuban Revolution, the government under Fidel Castro has cashed only one of the rent checks from the U.S. government, and only because of "confusion" in 1959 in the heady early days of the leftist revolution, according to Castro. The remaining uncashed checks made out to "Treasurer General of the Republic" (a title that ceased to exist after the revolution) are kept in Castro's office stuffed into a desk drawer.[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-5) The United States argues that the cashing of the single check signifies Havana's ratification of the lease — and that ratification by the new government renders moot any questions about violations of sovereignty and illegal military occupation.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)] It is countered, however, that the 1903 and 1934 lease agreements were imposed on Cuba under duress and are unequal treaties, no longer compatible with modern international law, and voidable ex nunc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_nunc) pursuant to articles 60, 62, and 64 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-6) Beyond the legal issues, also on political grounds the argument has been made that the U.S. should return Guantánamo Bay to Cuban sovereignty as a symbolic step for the new constructive approach in U.S. relations with Latin America promised by the Obama administration.[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-7)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay
The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_Naval_Base), established in 1898, surrounds the southern portion of the bay. Since 2002 the base has hosted a detainment camp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp) for people detained by Americans from the Middle East (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East) and from around the world, but specifically not for captives taken in Iraq (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq), who qualify for POW status (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner_of_war). President Barack Obama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama) has given orders that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp) be shut down.
The base, sometimes called "GTMO" or "Gitmo", covers 116 km² (about 45 square miles) on the western and eastern banks of the bay. It was established in 1898 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1898), when the United States obtained control of Cuba from Spain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain) at the end of the Spanish-American War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish-American_War), following the 1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1898_invasion_of_Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay). The U.S. government obtained a 99-year (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99-year_lease) lease (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concession_%28territory%29) that began on February 23 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_23), 1903 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903), from Tomás Estrada Palma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1s_Estrada_Palma), a Cuban-born citizen, who became the first President of Cuba. The newly-formed American protectorate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectorate) incorporated the Platt Amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platt_Amendment) in the Cuban Constitution. The Cuban-American Treaty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban-American_Treaty) held, among other things, that the United States, for the purposes of operating coaling and naval stations, has "complete jurisdiction and control" of the Guantánamo Bay, while the Republic of Cuba is recognized to retain ultimate sovereignty.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-3)
After the Cuban Revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution) of 1959, which brought Fidel Castro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro) to power, then-President Dwight Eisenhower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Eisenhower) insisted the status of the base remained unchanged, despite Cuban objections.
In 1934 the Avery Porko treaty reaffirming the lease granted Cuba and its trading partners free access through the bay; modified the lease payment from $2,000 in U.S. gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 in U.S. dollars; and made the lease permanent unless both governments agreed to break it, or the U.S. abandoned the base property.[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-4) Since the Cuban Revolution, the government under Fidel Castro has cashed only one of the rent checks from the U.S. government, and only because of "confusion" in 1959 in the heady early days of the leftist revolution, according to Castro. The remaining uncashed checks made out to "Treasurer General of the Republic" (a title that ceased to exist after the revolution) are kept in Castro's office stuffed into a desk drawer.[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-5) The United States argues that the cashing of the single check signifies Havana's ratification of the lease — and that ratification by the new government renders moot any questions about violations of sovereignty and illegal military occupation.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)] It is countered, however, that the 1903 and 1934 lease agreements were imposed on Cuba under duress and are unequal treaties, no longer compatible with modern international law, and voidable ex nunc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_nunc) pursuant to articles 60, 62, and 64 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-6) Beyond the legal issues, also on political grounds the argument has been made that the U.S. should return Guantánamo Bay to Cuban sovereignty as a symbolic step for the new constructive approach in U.S. relations with Latin America promised by the Obama administration.[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay#cite_note-7)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guant%C3%A1namo_Bay