The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay

Some time ago, I met an American living in Paris. His name is Michael J. Strauss. He sent me a postcard from Guantanamo bay a few months ago.
First time i met him, he intended to write a book about the leasing of Guantanamo Bay. He told me a funny story then:
Incredible as it may seem, since 1903, the U.S. has been paying $4,000 by U.S. Treasury General cheques every month to keep that U.S. enclave which was primarily a naval base.
Of course, post 9/11, it came to be sadly known as the infamous detention center a.k.a. Gitmo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay
The funny thing is that Fidel Castro doesn't cash those cheques but keeps them in a drawer because he, Fidel Castro, considers that the U.S. presence in Cuba is not legitimate. You can read about that story here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4169790a12.html

Well, I'm very glad to tell you that Michael J. Strauss has now finished writing that book. Congratulations Michael! : "The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay".
Read more here: http://www.greenwood.com/books/printFlyer.aspx?sku=C37782&location=international
and here: http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C37782.aspx

Here is a description of the book:

Post-2002 events at the U.S. naval facility at Guantanamo Bay have generated a spate of books on its use as a detention center in the U.S. fight against terrorism. Yet the crucial enabling factor-the lease that gave the U.S. control over the territory in Cuba-has till now escaped any but cursory consideration. The Leasing of Guantanamo Bay explains just how Guantanamo Bay came to be a leased territory where the U.S. has no sovereignty and Cuba has no jurisdiction. This is the first definitive account of the details and workings of the unusual and problematic state-to-state leasing arrangement that is the essential but murky foundation for all the ongoing controversies about Guantanamo Bay's role in U.S. anti-terrorism efforts, charges of U.S. human rights violations, and U.S.-Cuban relations.