Guantanamo Book – Lucky Timing?

Many people I meet these days comment on how fortunate I’ve been with the release of Inside Gitmo. “Wow,” they’ll say, “you couldn’t have asked for better timing. You were lucky!”

That’s true. By making closing of Guantanamo his first official act, President Obama called attention to it in a way that provoked pubic interest, concern, and discussion.

Another way of looking at it is the Chinese way: Luck is a combination of preparation and opportunity. It took more than 3 1/2 years of tough research and thousands of hours to write and revise the book through a strenuous editorial and publication process till it was ready for release.

I cannot tell you how many times during that process Rudy, Avery, or someone on the Inside Gitmo team would say, “Damn, if we only had the book out now! What great timing that would be.”

Yet it turned out that none of those occasions was as propitious as this one.

So perhaps the universe does move in mysterious ways and stars do align. In this instance, now that the furor over the economic stimulus package is passing and debates and news cycles are shifting, it is time we look to what is happening almost beneath our noses as preparations for moving, relocating, or releasing Gitmo detainees is being made.

All citizens need to get themselves informed and weigh in on this issue while we still are able. We watched as the economic legislation was rammed through before lawmakers could even read what the billions of dollars they were spending was going for.

We can’t let that happen with Gitmo! We are not responsible citizens if we allow resolution of Guantanamo to take place – perhaps to our detriment -without joining the discussion.

Get ready to join the debate, let your voice be heard, and make your ideas known.

Order your copy of Inside Gitmo from the web site today and send copies to your concerned friends. Join the discussion group on the site, speak out and speak up to your elected officials.

We can’t be railroaded into silence on Guantanamo. We collectively will have to make our own luck with this issue, it won’t happen for us unless we act.