The last days of Gitmo

Surely President Barack Obama is going to close the Guantanamo Bay hellhole they call Gitmo. Apparently the closure will be legally and logistically complicated. But Obama said he would do it, and probably the only question now is how soon.

The detention center, in use since 2001, has held 775 prisoners. About 420 have been released without charge. (Don't forget that many of these prisoners were just grabbed "off the street" when pointed out by people with who knows what motive.)

The latest twist: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (of 9/11 infamy) and four of his accomplices now say they want to plead guilty. It sounds like another play for "martyrdom." In fact, Mohammed had said some time back that he wanted to be executed and become a martyr. Having undergone water-boarding (as old as the Spanish Inquisition and recognized as torture by legal experts and human rights advocates around the world), he was at the center of the US torture debate. Now he will probably move instead to the center of the death penalty debate.

In any case, Gitmo itself is going to disappear. I doubt its scar on the face of our nation ever will. But maybe the scar will be an effective early warning in the future when another budding dictator eyes the White House.