Guantanamo Bay Turns 10

Today is a birthday, but probably not one you want to celebrate: Guantanamo Bay is turning 10, an anniversary that will be marked by protests here and abroad. Ten years ago, the first 20 detainees were flown to the detention facility in chains. Several of those 20 remain at Gitmo today, NPR notes. Of the 171 detainees still held at Guantanamo, just 36 will likely be given a military trial. Another 48 will, seemingly, be detained indefinitely; the US lacks a sufficient amount of evidence to try them, but insists they are too dangerous to release.

Over the past decade, the facilities have been modernized and now appear unexpectedly permanent, considering President Obama vowed to close the prison within one year of taking office—a deadline that expired two years ago. White House spokesperson Jay Carney this week insisted Obama still has a "firm" commitment to closing the prison, but he also noted that the process "faces obstacles that we’re all aware of" and said the administration "will continue to work through it." In Time, Mark Thompson writes, "That’s White House-speak for don’t count on it." (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)