For one hundred years the US military has had an operation on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Within days of taking office, President Barack Obama took steps to close the prison facility. In recent years, it has been used to hold international criminals suspected of terrorism against the US.

Obama’s swift action to close Guantanamo is an effort to distance himself, his administration and the international American image from the practices that took place there. The military used this location, conveniently close to home yet off of American soil and hence, outside of US judicial jurisdiction, to detain suspected criminals without trial, often without evidence and for undisclosed periods of time. In addition to this, there is substantial evidence of torture being used during and as a part of interrogation techniques.

Obama wanted to quickly change the way America is viewed by the world community and because many of the terrorists we face are of Islamic origin, he particularly wanted to show them that he was a different type of president. By closing the military prison, he is sending a message that he plans to deal with terrorists according to the same human rights standards that we propagate in our realm of influence. He is sending a clear message that though he will continue to fight the war on terror, he will handle it quite differently than the former administration.

It was a bold move, to start his administration with what could be viewed as a fairly insignificant change while faced with a domestic crisis at home. It was a strong move though, sending a message to the world that he is dedicated to reforming America beyond our borders before focusing his attention to the economy at home.

The matter of America’s domestic economy is a very complicated situation that will doubtlessly take a great deal of attention and a long time but before getting caught up in it, he closed Guantanamo as a symbol of good faith for more change to come.