By Travis W. Hall,
Former U.S. Army Interrogator

Editor’s Note: The non-partisan Web site “Opposing Views” offers readers a look at all sides of the debate on a variety of issues. This is part of a series of posts from the Web site that will appear in the FOX Forum.

After up to six years of confinement without access to evidence or an impartial trial, five Guantanamo detainees announced last week that they intend to plead guilty to coordinating the 9/11 attacks. At least one of the detainees, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was previously a victim of water-boarding, during which he “confessed” to a laundry list of terrorist activities and future operations.

AP photo

Intelligence officials at the CIA and former FBI agents seriously question the reliability of his confessions, believing most of his confessions to be disinformation rather than reliable intelligence. Thus, it is already apparent that Mr. Mohammed’s confessions have a questionable basis in fact.

Because Guantanamo has evolved into a symbol of repression, torture, and arbitrary rulings, everything about it is suspect, even confessions.

Additionally, the military judge also ordered a mental evaluation of two of the other detainees wishing to now profess their guilt.

Because Guantanamo has evolved into a symbol of repression, torture, and arbitrary rulings, everything about it is suspect, even confessions. These recent developments only highlight the urgent need for President-elect Obama to close down Guantanamo without further military commission hearings, even hearings to accept confessions.

Proponents of Guantanamo are now rallying to convince the president-elect to keep Guantanamo open. They argue over the challenges of closing the prison and act as though its reputation is still capable of rehabilitation. This position is flawed because it prioritizes managing the consequences of the War of Terror (housing detainees) over achieving progress in the War on Terror. Because of logistics, proponents want Guantanamo to remain open, even though closing it has significant strategic value in counterterrorism operations.

Proponents of Guantanamo underestimate what a powerful a propaganda tool Guantanamo has become for terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, despite several Department of Defense studies documenting the propaganda value of detention centers. For example, West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center has monitored numerous Al Qaeda references to Guantanamo in its recruitment propaganda materials. Improvements to Guantanamo’s administration of judicial mechanisms will not make its way into Al Qaeda propaganda. Nothing short of closing Guantanamo will remove this arrow from its quiver.

I recognize that closing Guantanamo will not immediately impact terrorist recruiting materials.  Only time will make Guantanamo a non-issue to potential terrorist recruits. But, closing the prison is a necessary first step in the propaganda battle.

Countering Al Qaeda’s propaganda will improve security and stability, which will have real costs savings to the U.S. and allow our nation to reduce the number of deployed soldiers. More importantly, closing Guantanamo will remove the shadow over those most sacred of American values: liberty and justice.

To read more about Gitmo and the debate over torture, click here.