Honigsberg disputed the claim that placing convicted terrorists in federal prisons in the U.S. would create a significant new security risk. ‘The fact is that our ‘supermax’ prisons in America already house many convicted terrorists and other enemies of America,’ he said. ‘If the men are convicted of a crime, we can be assured that they will be locked up in these maximum security prisons.’

‘The Geneva Convention requires that prisoners be released at the end of hostilities,’ wrote Honigsberg. ‘Obama should declare that, after more than 14 years, hostilities with Afghanistan are over. He can then release the men in Guantanamo who have not been charged back to their home countries or to third countries. And, he can prosecute the men who have been charged with war crimes.’

‘[Guantanamo] is a stain that is very clear on America,’ said Honigsberg. ‘The best thing to say would be: ‘We made a mistake and we acknowledge that mistake and we take some accountability for that mistake and we will move on.”

‘Many of the former detainees now live in third party countries — not their homeland — and lead difficult lives, stained by financial hardship and psychological scars,’ Honigsberg said. ‘The government, I feel, has an obligation to assist these men to get back on their feet and have some life going forward,’ he said.