President Obama has pledged to close down the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo) within a year. This decision was made in an effort to boost US goodwill throughout the world, and it has succeeded in that regard. Lacking, though, is the careful planning and supporting logistical analysis.

Fort Sill near Lawton has been considered as a possible relocation site for Gitmo detainees. This could raise numerous problems in Oklahoma. The potential relocation of detainees would cause dissent among many Oklahomans, and also endanger the communities in the event of escape. Most likely, though, this move would cause the perception of weakening national security, because the transport and lodging of terrorists on American soil could pose potential dangers.

Oklahoma lawmakers have expressed their concerns over such a decision. Rep Mary Fallin, R-Dist. 5, in a press release said she “will do all [she] can to make sure…that none of the terrorists will be housed in our state, even for one night.”

These detainees, if they are confirmed as terrorists, should be held in foreign countries, because they collectively represent an inherent threat to the US. However, if we are to use rendition to export these terrorists to foreign countries, President Obama’s executive order must be amended to ban the use of torture in the context of extraordinary rendition.

Currently, the executive order only applies to detainees “in the custody or under the effective control of an officer, employee or other agent of the U. S. Government, or detained within a facility owned, operated, or controlled by a department or agency of the United States, in any armed conflict.” If these detainees were sent to foreign prisons, the ban on torture would not apply.

This loophole allows the US intelligence to use torture as it had in Gitmo, only under a different country’s jurisdiction. This clause does not end torture for Gitmo detainees – it merely tries to soothe our American conscience.

If we are to foster international goodwill toward America, it may be important to end the practice of extraordinary rendition as well as banning torture under American authority.

Ohm Devani is a University College freshman. His column appears every other Friday.