Erin Finucane's blog

Just two days after the 6th year anniversary of the establishment of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen said he would like to see Guantanamo "shut down." The Associated Press reported that while the Chairman was touring the facility with reporters he discussed the negative attention Guantanamo has triggered, attention which has been "pretty damaging" to the U.S. image in the world.

On the same day, the New Yorker published an interview with U.S. Director of National Security Mike McConnell. He recalled the Abu Ghraib scandal as the moment the U.S. "had lost the moral high ground." When asked about the interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay, he reiterated the U.S. "does not torture." However by McConnell's own standards, "water boarding would be torture."

U.S. detention practices and Guantanamo have been a central issue in the 2008 election and a source of contention for the Bush Administration. Presidential candidates have sparred over the Administration's "enhanced interrogation techniques" like water boarding (simulated drowning) and sleep deprivation and how the techniques effect the world's perception of the United States.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a prisoner of war who was tortured for six years, has stated "We could never gain as much from torture as we lose in world opinion. We do not torture people. It's not about the terrorists, it's about us. It's about what kind of country we are."

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) echoed, "When I'm President, we'll reject torture - without exception or equivocation; we'll close Guantanamo; we'll be the country that credibly tells the dissidents in the prison camps around the world that America is your voice, America is your dream, America is your light of justice."

Many critics view the practices as the arrogance of a super power run amuck. At the Guantanamo Bay detention facility there have been questions of detainee mistreatment, violations of international law, and accusations of torture. The Administration has been unwavering in its position that the Guantanamo detention facility is crucial to American security interests because of the high profile prisoners that have been named security threats. Only four of the 277 prisoners are currently facing military tribunals having been formally charged with crimes.

Should the next President close Guantanamo? Tell the candidates what you think and submit your idea today!

The long anticipated Iowa caucuses are finally upon us!

This evening, caucus-goers will brave the freezing temperatures to offer one final push of support for the candidate of their choice. Iowa is politically significant because the caucuses take place before any primary in the nation. Additionally, Iowans are often considered the most well-informed voters in the country because of the face time they garner with the candidates. As such, Iowa is regularly the target of many events in a presidential year.

This fall, the Better World Campaign, in co-operation with the

By a ratio of 3:1, young voters believe the United Nations should be spearheading the world's problems, rather than the United States. That was the result of a new poll, commissioned by the Brookings Institution Opportunity '08 project and Harvard's Institute of Politics on the youth vote and the 2008 Presidential election.

As John Della Volpe, Director of Polling at Harvard's Institute of Politics explained, unlike past elections, the poll indicates that young people are engaged and paying attention to the issues. The survey found that the war in Iraq is still considered the most important issue facing young voters, while health care was overwhelmingly the second most important issue. In keeping with what he referred to as a new "internationalism," the poll indicated that the majority of young voters believe that the United Nations is more trustworthy and effective than the U.S. government.

The poll also showed a strong shift towards diplomacy in the 2008 election. Young voters were asked whether the President should have "the strength and the courage" to meet with leaders of rogue nations without conditions, or whether it would be "irresponsible and na