Commentary: The first prisoners arrived at Guantanamo Bay 20 years ago. Will it ever close?
On Jan. 11, 2002, a U.S. military plane landed at our base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the first men deemed “the worst of the worst” by then-Vice President Dick Cheney were brought into the now-infamous detention center. Jumah Al-Dossari, a citizen of both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia whom I would eventually represent, arrived a few days later. He was held as an “enemy combatant” based on the accusation that he was a member of al-Qaida, a claim made without substantiation or allegation that he had done anything to harm the U.S., its citizens or its allies.
