The Navy Runs The Most Bizarre Gift Shop In Guantnamo Bay

Guantánamo Bay’s prison came to infamy during the George W. Bush administration not only for having been intentionally opened “outside of U.S. and international law” (via Vox), but because of confirmed torture methods conducted on-site — “enhanced interrogation,” as the euphemism went. These methods, employed against the supposed “worst of the worst” of alleged terrorists (via The Washington Post), were described by detainee Majid Khan in 2021: “suspended naked from a ceiling beam for long periods, doused repeatedly with ice water to keep him awake for days … having his head held under water to the point of near drowning, only to have water poured into his nose and mouth when the interrogators let him up … beaten, given forced enemas, sexually assaulted and starved” (via The Guardian).

Countless exposés let the American public know what was going on, and when Barack Obama took office in 2009, he swore to close the whole thing down. Now, President Biden is saying the same. But first, Gitmo must release its final prisoners. Release, however, involves an incredibly complex, multi-organization, red-taped review system (Departments of Defense, State, Justice and Homeland Security, and so on), a blindingly ironic twist given how casually folks were originally tossed in (WBUR even has pictures). The Trump administration, it should be noted, blocked release after release. 

Is it any surprise, then, that a Guantánamo Bay gift shop full of Frisbees, hoodies, beer koozies, and the rest comes across as tone deaf and absurd at best, and morally repugnant at worst?  

ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue8KroKadX6m1pnnNmq2yZaKqu7R506GcZqWfqMFursizmKuqlWK0qrLTZqqhp6Bitq95xq6Yp6yRo66uu4ybmLJn