Whatever happened to Obama's promise to shut Guantanamo Bay?

If there's one potent symbol of President Barack Obama's leadership failure, it's the Guantanamo Bay. The “Yes We Can” messiah had made the closure of the infamous U.S. military prison one of his campaign promises. The first executive order Obama issued after entering the White House was on the closure of Gitmo within a year, signaling a defining departure from the shame of Bush years.
Next month Obama will mark two years of his presidency. However, halfway into his presidency, Guantanamo Bay is far from shut and remains a source of shame for America. It has come to represent the yawning gulf between the words and actions of arguably the greatest democracy on the planet. Hundreds of mostly innocent men picked up from Afghanistan, Pakistan and from around the world in the chaos and madness of the months after 9/11 attacks have spent nearly a decade behind the bars in the most despicable conditions without trial and without any hope of justice. America's own mainstream media, including the mighty New York Times and Washington Post, have run series of stories proving the innocence of the majority of detainees who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Two former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, besides numerous others, have repeatedly implored the U.S. leadership to shut down what has come to be known as America's gulag. Their calls have been seconded and strengthened by millions of people protesting across the globe against America's shame. This international outrage was one reason why Obama had put the issue at the top of his agenda during his White House campaign. This is why it's such a disgrace that for all his solemn speeches upholding the U.S. commitment to justice and rule of law, Obama has failed to free hundreds of innocent, faceless men locked at the Gitmo.
If there had been any hope of shutting down the prison, it appears to be withering fast with the introduction of a bill by the Republicans that blocks the trial of detainees in U.S. civilian courts, a step considered crucial to wrap up the whole sordid business. The bill, introduced on Wednesday, also prohibits spending of public money to transfer the detainees or to finance facilities to hold them in the U.S. Given the recent addition of numbers to the Republican ranks in both houses, the bill is likely to have a smooth sail.
Goes without saying this is not just a blow to efforts of human rights groups and campaigners for the Gitmo detainees; it is a huge setback to Obama personally and his political standing. The current political and economic mess at home and abroad may have been a legacy of his predecessor. But he has got so hopelessly bogged down in it that issues like the Gitmo and repairing America's image have been put on the backburner. So much for the Audacity of Hope! But if Obama is half the man he claims to be, he must stand up and fight for his ideals — and those once championed by America. The Guantanamo Bay — and all that it has come to represent — is a blot on America's image. If he gives in to the neocons on Gitmo, just as he has given in to Israel on settlements, he'll go down in history as a political disaster that was all hype and little hope.