The Joint Task Force at Guantánamo Bay said Sept. 23 that they would no longer issue daily updates on detainee hunger strikes. This announcement sought to effectively declared the end of the unprecedentedly broad, six-month long, prisoner protest. There are now 164 prisoners in Guantanamo, and as many as 106 were on strike at the peak of the protest in July. Only 19 detainees are still classified as on hunger strike. For those 19 prisoners, force-feeding continues. The hunger strike has brought attention to the prison, and caused US President Barack Obama to renew his pledge to close the facility.

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled (PDF) Sept. 13 that the US government does not have to release photographs and videotapes taken during the investigation of Mohammed al-Qahtani's connection to the September 11 attacks. Al-Qahtani was held in Guantánamo Bay until his charges were eventually dropped. The videotapes depict al-Qahtani's interrogations, something the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) claims should be public record. However, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald stated:

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on July 16 denied (PDF) a motion by Guantánamo Bay detainees to end forced feeding of hunger-striking prisoners. The petitioners maintained that the practice was cruel and that it would interfere with their religious practices during the month of Ramadan, which began on July 8 and requires fasting during daylight hours. In her opinion, Judge Rosemary Collyer found that the court does not have jurisdiction to decide the case. She also noted that even if the court had jurisdiction, she would not have granted the order, saying: "there is nothing so shocking or inhumane in the treatment of Petitioners—which they can avoid at will—to raise a constitutional concern that might otherwise necessitate review." Collyer also pointed out that the Guantanamo staff had plans to accommodate the petitioners' religious needs during Ramadan.

Four Guantánamo Bay prisoners filed a motion (PDF) in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on June 30 asking the federal court to order the prison's officials to stop the practice of force-feeding hunger strikers. In their motion, Shaker Aamer, Ahmed Belbacha, Nabil Hadjarab and Abu Wa'el Dhiab alleged that the practice violates human rights law and medical ethics, while serving "no penological interest." They also noted that they have all been detained at Guantanamo for 11 years and have since determined that it is not likely they will ever be charged or released, and thus their being force-fed serves no military necessity. They requested an accelerated hearing on the issue in order to avoid any conflict with the upcoming Islamic holiday Ramadan, which begins on the evening of July 8. Currently, there are 166 detainees at the Guantanamo prison, of which 106 are on hunger strike.

A federal judge called June 18 on members of Congress and the president to give serious consideration to formulating a different approach for the handling of Guantánamo Bay detainee cases. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit released their opinion in the case of Abdul al-Qader Hussain v. Barack Obama (opinion, PDF) in which Judge Harry Edwards wrote a concurring opinion. The majority opinion found that Abdul al-Qader Ahmed Hussain had been affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and was therefore properly detained. In his concurrence Edwards conceded that while the president was authorized to detain Hussain under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), there was no evidence that he had "aided" those who engaged in terrorist attacks.

The US government on June 17 released (text, PDF) the names and nationalities of 46 men who are classified for "continued detention" at Guantánamo Bay detention center, ineligible for release, transfer or prosecution. The names were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Miami Herald and the New York Times. In the 2010 Guantanamo Review Task Force (PDF) the US government explained continued detention:

The US Department of Defense (DoD) on June 10 announced that military commission charges have been filed against Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi. Al-Hadi is an Iraqi prisoner who has been held at the Guantánamo Bay detention center in Cuba since 2007. The official charge sheet (PDF) alleges, among other things, that al-Hadi was a superior commander for al-Qaeda and that he and his operatives killed multiple US service members and attacked a US military medical helicopter with rocket-propelled grenades and firearms. Prosecutors also allege that al-Hadi funded and oversaw all of al-Qaeda's operations against US and allied forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2002 to 2004 and that he directed his forces to use various unlawful means, such as attacking civilians and detonating car bombs in civilian areas. The charges against al-Hadi will next be reviewed by a Pentagon official. If approved, the case can proceed with arraignment on the charges, which carry a potential life sentence.

US President Barack Obama delivered a speech May 23 on US counterterrorism policy and efforts, outlining plans to restrict the use of unmanned drone strikes and to renew efforts to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay. In Obama's first major speech on counterterrorism since his re-election, he said: "Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue, but this war, like all wars, must end. That's what history advises. That's what our democracy demands." But rather than introduce new sweeping policies, Obama's speech reaffirmed his national security priorities.