Even more importantly, “Gitmo” (as it is infamously known now) and everything it represents must be invalidated. This includes the military tribunal process, the human rights violations, torture, and the blatant disregard for the rule of law.

This is President Obama’s challenge.

As Obama noted in his May 21 speech on the issue, Guantanamo and the activities that occurred there set back the “moral authority” of the United States.

Closing Guantanamo would help restore that authority.

But Republicans, led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, are opposing this, conjuring up fears that Guantanamo detainees will be released to roam free here in America.

Even some influential Democrats in Congress have bought into this absurd claim.

“We will never allow terrorists to be released into the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said recently.

What they’re forgetting is that the U.S. prison system currently houses some very dangerous individuals. Among the notables:

Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, a man guilty of killing several innocent citizens with sophisticated mail bombs, is housed in the federal prison in Colorado.

Ramzi Yousef, the man who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, is housed in the same prison as Kaczynski.

Eric Rudolph, a man who killed several people when he bombed abortion clinics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, is also housed in a federal prison.

So is Terry Nichols, who assisted Timothy McVeigh in bombing a federal building in Oklahoma City where 168 people were brutally murdered.

The idea that Guantanamo detainees will somehow escape from maximum-security prisons in the United States is a foolish one.

Obama should be applauded for his decision to close Gitmo, but he should be criticized for going forward with military tribunals down there. These tribunals are an insult to the rule of law. All prisoners who are charged there with crimes should be given real trials in federal courts or in recognized international judicial tribunals that prosecute war crimes.

Finally, and perhaps, most importantly, Obama should press for an investigation or inquiry into exactly what happened in the torture program that has its roots at Gitmo. Obama’s original decision to not seek an inquiry was a mistake.

With Cheney repeatedly making statements supporting the illegal torture program, an investigation, inquiry and perhaps prosecution of those responsible for the torture program has to be considered.

If there is evidence that some political leaders may have committed war crimes, the Obama administration should charge them.

It is the only way that we recover our honor and our reputation after the sordid affair known as “Gitmo.”

Brian Gilmore, a poet and a lawyer, lives in Takoma Park, Md. He can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.