GLENN GREENWALD: The five men ordered released today have been imprisoned in a cage by the Bush administration for 7 straight years without being charged with any crimes and without there being any credible evidence that they did anything wrong. If the members of Congress who voted for the Military Commissions Act had their way (see them here and here), or if the four Supreme Court Justice in the Boumediene minority had theirs, the Bush administration would nonetheless have been empowered to keep them encaged indefinitely, for the rest of their lives if desired, without ever having to charge them with any crime or allow them to step foot into a courtroom to petition for habeas corpus.Judge Leon is a Bush-43 appointed Judge known as a right-wing ideologue and known for ruling in favor of the Government and for expansive executive power. He was Deputy Chief counsel for the Republicans on the Iran-Contra Committee in 1987, was Special Counsel to the Senate Banking Committee for the Whitewater investigation, and worked for both the Reagan and Bush 41 Justice Departments. That Judge Leon — of all judges — ruled that there was no credible evidence to suggest that these detainees are “enemy combatants” is as compelling a sign as one can imagine that there is no such evidence. MORE
REUTERS: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to close the prison camp after he takes office in January. Meanwhile, U.S. judges in 
Washington are moving ahead with case-by-case reviews of about 200 detainee legal challenges. Here are some facts about Guantanamo and Obama’s position on its detention operation: Bush administration officials repeatedly said they wanted to close the controversial prison but never advanced a plan to do so. They concluded this year closure would require legislation that was too difficult to negotiate in a heated election season. Obama said he will close Guantanamo and that U.S. civilian courts and the traditional military courts-martial system can handle detainee trials, rather than the separate system set up by President George W. Bush and Congress. Obama on Sunday said: “I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn’t torture, and I’m going to make sure that we don’t torture.” MORE