• Mike Huckabee is against the closure of the Guantanamo
Bay prison in Cuba feels that the question of Guantanamo is more
of a 'symbolic issue' rather than anything else. The detainees
according to him are treated better than the prisoners in the
mainland. 

• "It's (Guantanamo) more symbolic than it is a
substantive issue because people perceive of mistreatment when in
fact there are extraordinary means being taken to make sure these
detainees are being given really every consideration," Huckabee
said.

• Huckabee commented about the detention centre operated
by military in the Guantanamo Bay as follows: "The inmates there
were getting a whole lot better treatment in comparison to the
prisoners in Arkansas. I hope our guys don't see this," said
Huckabee. "They'll all want to be transferred to Guantanamo. If
anything, it's too nice," added Huckabee.

• "But I tell you if we let somebody out and it turns out
that they come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers,
we're going to be asking how come we didn't stop them, we had
them detained," he said. "If we're going to make a mistake right
now, let's make it on the side of protecting the American
people."

• The existing system of dealing with the terror suspects
detained in the Guantanamo, according to Huckabee's opinion,
"reveals what's gone wrong" in the war against terrorism. He
feels that erring for the sake of protecting the American
citizens proves to be a better choice.
		

• Obama has always been critical of U.S. detention policies
and says too many prisoners languish in Guantanamo without fair
trials. ? As a senator, Obama voted YES on preserving habeus
corpus for Guantanamo detainees.  He stated, "Why don't we close
Guantanamo and restore the right of habeas corpus, because that's
how we lead, not with the might of our military, but the power of
our ideals and the power of our values. It's time to show the
world we're not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of
night to be tortured in far off countries. We're not a country
that runs prisons which locks people away without ever telling
them why they're there or what they're charged with. We're not a
country which preaches compassion to others while we allow bodies
to float down the streets of major American cities. That's not
who we are."

• In May 2008 while campaigning in North Carolina, Obama
said, ?We can set the highest standards around the world for
human rights and rule of law and close Guantanamo and restore
habeas corpus." 

• In May 2009 Obama announced a plan which would lead to
the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison within a year. The plan
called for terror suspects locked up in the prison to be brought
to the United States mainland where they would be tried and
prosecuted. Of the detainees who would be brought to the country,
some would be set free. The rest would be able to exercise
constitutional rights and would undergo open trials. Nearly one
year later we are no closer to closing Guantanamo and sources say
it will take another year to accomplish.   It is still not clear
where the how the detainees will be tried or the location of the
trials. 

• Obama is strongly against the idea of trying the terror
suspects in the Cuban island itself, an idea that was favored by
George Bush. Obama advisers who charted out the plan believe that
the process of bringing the suspects to the mainland might be
complicated and may invite controversies but that is not a task
that cannot be accomplished. Obama advisers are of the notion
that the detainees can be guarded as well in the US as anywhere
else. 

• Obama's plan proposes a novel court system which will be
a sort of military commissions dispensing justice. A committee
will be set up to decide the workings of the court. The detainees
who will be released will be sent back to the countries from
where they were captured for further proceedings if any. Others
may be prosecuted in the US criminal courts.

• Obama argues that the Military Commissions Act of 2006
is flawed and calls for a reform of the trials from its present
format. Obama is all for "a process that adheres to rule of law,
habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo-American legal system,
but doing it in a way that doesn't result in releasing people who
are intent on blowing us up."