The United States of America has been the shining beacon of morality for hundreds of years. That beacon is a little dimmer nowadays.

Guantanamo Bay or Camp Delta as our government prefers it, is officially a temporary holding facility for detainees. Many of the detainees have lost faith for their release, and so far 31 men are on a hunger strike to bring attention to their cause.

It is doubtful that these hunger strikes will have an impact. A 2005 hunger strike where over 100 detainees took part did nothing for the detainees.

Our declaration of independence states “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. These are unalienable rights in which all men, not just American men are created equal.

There is nothing wrong with this nation acting to defend itself. We are still in the the process of adapting to a new kind of threat which involves acting on useful information extracted from detainees.

We have not adapted well enough yet. Our treatment of these detainees fuels the animosity our enemies feel for America.

New guidelines for the treatment of the Guantanamo Bay detainees must be established.

Closing Guantanamo Bay is not the realistic option that President Obama may have realized after promising the American public that he will shut it down.

Shutting down Guantanamo Bay involves setting the detainees free or finding a new facility for them.

No country will willingly accept potential terrorists and the American government will not set them free knowing that they might return to the battlefield with a score to settle.

It is understandable that part of the reason there is no limit on how long a prisoner can be held is to encourage detainees to talk since they must feel that they risk the possibility of endless internment.

Our best option is to cease the transfer of any new detainees to Guantanamo Bay while building new facilities in the Middle East to detain them there.

Guantanamo Bay at this point is hurting our war effort by enraging our enemies and disappointing our citizens.