The first 20 men arrived at Guantanamo Bay on 1/11/2002. After the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, the number of detainees swelled.
Some detainees were caught on the battlefield by U.S. forces; others were handed over to the U.S. by tribesmen in exchange for $5,000 payments -- with little real evidence of their guilt. 779 prisoners went to Guantanamo, and 166 remain there. Many have been held 10 years or longer without a trial.
President Obama tried to close "Gitmo" in 2009 but was stymied by Congress. Now, 25 men are on hunger strikes there to protest their endless internment without trial.
Is this really the best the U.S. can do? Are we so bereft of ideas and so unable to live up to our own rhetoric on human rights that we're willing to imprison people forever without trial?