Alright, I'd like to hear someone break down exactly how Obama is supposed to resolve this. How does he circumvent congress? Where are the prisoners released?
He can direct Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel to use his authority to issue the certifications or national security waivers required by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA 2013) to effect transfers from Guantánamo.
He can appoint an individual within his Administration to lead the effort to close Guantánamo and lead the transfer effort.
He can announce a concrete and specific plan to close the facility. As a first step and a clear signal that this is the beginning of a new chapter in Guantánamo’s legacy, he can immediately release Shaker Aamer and Djamel Ameziane.
He can veto the NDAA if it contains language that allows for the continued indefinite detention of prisoners without trial.
He can use his bully pulpit to exhort congress to support funding the closure of the facility, to support the trials of prisoners in a federal court, and to support the release of innocent prisoners into the United States if no other country will take them. He's used it effectively to gain support for Obamacare, the repeal of DADT, and he's using it now to gain support for expanding background checks on gun sales. He could be trying harder with respect to Guantanamo.
I understand why they don't want to release prisoners to certain countries, that there are risks involved with that. However, if there is no evidence to support the allegation that a prisoner is guilty of terrorism, or engaging in war with our forces, then it is unreasonable to maintain that they are a threat and that we are entitled to detain them indefinitely. If there is cause, then they can press charges and make their case in a federal court. Otherwise, we are depriving a human being of their inherent right to freedom. What normally happens to POWs at the end of a war? If we have a global war on terror that by definition has no end, because terrorism is a strategy and a concept and not a country with borders, how will we justify detaining POWs in perpetuity? Would we allow our own soldiers to be treated that way? Why should we expect any different, since we are setting a standard of treatment outside of the Geneva Conventions?