The Last American in Guantanamo will be...

The Last American in Guantanamo will be...me! This presumes that I prove successful in my bid to be elected U.S. president in 2012*. I will order all U.S. military personnel out of the Guantanamo Bay enclave in Cuba, intending to be the last American to formally occupy that land. [That’s a provision in my current written contract, same as it was for the 2008 election.]

After waving goodbye to the last of our departing troops, I will turn around (alone) to face the thousands of Cubans standing, with hope in their hearts, outside the gates of this U.S. military base. I will then open these gates, allowing them to enter and enjoy that "ultimate sovereignty" over Guantanamo which the U.S. has always claimed was Cuba's. I envision many of these thousands weeping for joy and kissing the ground.

In fact, if Castro were to be present, I would like to walk up to him, shake his hand, and say, "Welcome to Guantanamo. Sorry it took so long to return it to your people." [Hmm…wouldn’t that make an interesting scenario for a campaign commercial specially scripted and staged for TV? I wonder who I could get to play Castro…wait!!! I wonder if the real life Castro would be agreeable to this. What a coup that would be!]

Abandoning Guantanamo is one of the two recognized methods for returning that land to its rightful owners. [The other method: obtaining consent from the U.S. government.] Since the U.S. president can order troop movements (in effect, "abandoning" that site) without consulting with Congress, I will proceed immediately to do just that. I will also encourage Congress to normalize relations with Cuba. That, unfortunately, the U.S. president cannot do by himself, though it is an action long overdue.

We would stun the world with this unexpected bit of do-the-right-thing. This one simple gesture, of course, cannot undo the immense harm wrought by certain parts of our foreign policy. "Certain parts," for example, inspired by greed, fear, and a compulsive need to dominate based on a haughty superiority complex. However, I believe yielding Gitmo would have an enormous ripple effect throughout the entire third world. Maybe some analysts abroad would see this gesture for what it is: A sign that the United States is losing some of its fear.

I am the only presidential candidate you will ever hear talking like this. [During the 2008 campaign, when I’d originally posted this essay, I had closed this paragraph with: “Hilary Clinton, Bill Frist, John Kerry, John McCain, and none of the other contenders will. It's not that they lack courage (I'm sure, under given circumstances, they all have lots of courage); it's not that they lack intelligence (I will stipulate that all of them are far more intelligent than I). What they lack are the vision and the wisdom which a strong Buddhist practice would provide. And I'm not shy about saying so.”]

Among my opponents [will be a] lot of career politicians who are steeped (well-marinated, one might say) in business as usual. Also among them are a lot of lawyerly types, those of wealth who feel they're entitled, and those who are just plain power-hungry. And then there's me: Steven Searle, the fighting Buddhist.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

“To show my dogged determination concerning the return of Gitmo to the Cubans, I spent $444 to post an ad three times saying so in In These Times (appearing in the July, Aug, & Sept. '06 issues).”

  * Actually, I had posted a variation of this essay on-line during my 2008 bid for the presidency. Well…if at first you don’t succeed…