It’s been open more than a decade now, but there is still much Americans don’t know about the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. One person who is more familiar with Gitmo than most is the Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg, who has been reporting from the prison since the first detainee arrived in 2002. Upon his first-term inauguration in 2009, President Obama famously vowed to close the facility, but so far the Administration has failed to make good on that promise. Obama once again made that same pledge last month and on Tuesday, embattled Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that the Administration is trying to “close Guantanamo” and “the President has indicated that it’s too expensive, that it’s a recruitment tool for terrorists, it has a negative impact on our relationship with our allies.” For many progressives and civil liberties groups (not to mention the 166 detainees) Holder’s latest comments couldn’t have come soon enough. A six-man hunger strike at the prison that began in March has now grown to 100 inmates, including 30 who are being force fed. On Tuesday, the U.S. military said medics were called to a cell after a prisoner had been reported “unresponsive,” but was later determined to be okay. The so-called “code yellow” is just the latest incident fueling calls on the military to stop the force feeding. With no specific closing date in sight, a mere 6 of the detainees actually charged and another half of the 166 slated for release, what needs to happen before the White House actually does something? We’ll ask Rosenberg when she joins NOW at noon ET on msnbc.
PANEL
Frank Bruni, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times (@frankbruni)
Heather McGhee, Vice President, Demos (@hmcghee)
Katty Kay, Anchor, BBC World News America (@kattykaybbc)
Michael Eric Dyson, Professor, Georgetown University/msnbc Political Analyst (@michaeledyson) GUESTS Alex Gibney, Filmmaker, “We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks” (@baluebolivar) Carol Rosenberg, The Miami Herald (@carolrosenberg)
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