MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
80 inmates still at Gitmo, most charged with nothing since placement there over a decade ago - many scheduled for release 7 years ago, but never released; others essentially sentenced to life without trial or release. Is Col. Jessup still defending American Way up on that wall?
We probably can't stand the truth. How many of us realized that in defending Saudi Arabia - right, that Saudi Arabia - we were capturing many of Gitmo's residents from Yemen? Not quite the Iraq/Afghanistan/Pakistan triad we might expect. When Trump says he'd do more than waterboarding, the awful fact is we've tortured much worse. Which candidate is likely to actually provide release?

Guantanamo detainees in numbers (source: Human Rights First/ACLU)
Total number of detainees ever incarcerated at Guantanamo: 779
Detainees currently held at Guantanamo: 107
Number of current detainees imprisoned for more than 10 years: 88
Age of the youngest detainee ever held: 13
Age of the oldest detainee ever held: 89
Children the US detained: 21
Detainees who have died at Guantanamo: 9
The youngest detainee to die at Guantanamo: Yasser Talal Al Zahrani (captured at age 16, died by apparent suicide at age 21)
Capture of Guantanamo Bay detainees (Source: ACLU)
Bounties paid by Bush Administration to anyone who would hand over a possible terror suspect: $3,000 to $25,000
Percentage of detainees captured by US troops: 5%
Percentage of detainees reportedly turned over to coalition forces in response to the bounty offer: 86%
Leaving Guantanamo Bay (Source: Human Rights First)
Detainees released under President George W Bush: over 500
Detainees at start of Barack Obama Presidency: 242
Detainees transferred, repatriated or resettled under Obama: 133
Detainees transferred to US for prosecution: 1 (Ahmed Ghailani)
Remaining detainees approved for release: 46
Detainees Obama Administration is holding for indefinite detention without charge or trial: 49
Yemenis approved for transfer: 37
Of these, 30 are held in "conditional" detention, pending improved security in Yemen or transfer to a third country.
Number of countries that have accepted Guantanamo detainees: 56