We congratulate President Obama on his re-election. This is his opportunity to reaffirm our constitutional principles and the fundamental American values of due process, respect for the rule of law and individual freedom. It is a time to once again be a nation where we can be both safe and free.

During his 2008 campaign, Obama stated that closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison would be a priority for his first term. Shortly after he assumed office, Obama issued an executive order [JURIST report] for the closure of the site within one year. According to Forum contributor David Frakt, the Obama administration is not solely to blame [JURIST op-ed] for Guantanamo Bay remaining open. The US Congress has, since 2009, "passed a series of increasingly stringent spending restrictions which have made it virtually impossible to transfer most detainees out of Guantanamo." Other scholars, including Forum contributor Jonathan Hafetz, have raised concerns [JURIST op-ed] about how the failure to close Guantanamo Bay "has helped justify the policies of arbitrary detention and torture that spurred its creation in the first place."