- A controversial anniversary: It was ten years ago to the day that the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba was turned into a prison facility, designed to house suspected terrorist detainees indefinitely, pending a process of oft-criticized military tribunals. For the Obama administration, this was an occasion they once hoped (and indeed promised) would not happen; the President’s first full day in office was marked with the signing of an order to close the facility within a year. Three years on, and the failure to fulfill this promise (as well as the absence of any earnest public explanation of it) does beg the question: was this truly a moral issue for the President, or simply a made-to-order, feel-good issue to stoke a liberal base? Check the link for a very thoughtful piece on the anniversary of Gitmo from The Atlantic’s Andrew Cohen. (photo by Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty Images) source