The U.S. terrorist prison at Guantanamo continues to be the central character in an absurd play.
Discerning U.S. policy is made no easier by news released today from a variety of sources. President George Bush, in a news conference this afternoon acknowledged that controversies at the prison had damaged U.S. reputation abroad and should be shut down.
Also today, The Guardian reported that journalists were expelled from Gitmo after an article in The Charlotte Observer reported on military conversations the brass would have just as soon not seen in print.
As if that were not enough, this afternoon Salon ran an extensive article: “Interviews with high-ranking military officials shed new light on the role Rumsfeld played in the harsh treatment of a Guantánamo detainee.”
Bush Admits Problems
Reuters reported that the president admitted that Gitmo makes it difficult for the U.S. to claim the high ground on human rights issues. He said, "No question, Guantanamo sends, you know, a signal to some of our friends — provides an excuse, for example, to say, 'The United States is not upholding the values that they're trying encourage other countries to adhere to’.” But he also said that there was no plan for relocating prisoners. Some are considered dangerous and need be dealt with by the courts, and there’s a fear that if others are sent back to their countries, they could be arrested and tortured.
There was no information about the obvious implication that many detainees are not dangerous although they’ve been held for years without charge.
Another problem Bush cited is an upcoming Supreme Court ruling about the proper forum for hearing these cases. The Court is expected to rule within the next few weeks on whether prisoners charged of war crimes can be tried before special military tribunals. Of the 460 prisoners still held there, 10 are scheduled to be tried before these tribunals. “According to the Pentagon, 287 detainees have left Guantanamo. That includes 192 who have been released and 95 who were transferred to the custody of other governments,” Reuters reported.
Article comments
1 - JustOneMan
YYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWNNNN......
2 - Scott Butki
Good piece. I'm working on a piece now about G. Bay and a new documentary. I'll link to here if you do likewise when it's posted.
3 - Nancy
Consider the nature of the current administration, which blatantly operates outside the law without hindrance or apology, and is anyone here surprised? And they want transparency from BushCo & Rummy?
4 - Nancy
Actually, considering that Junior has up til this point in his life absolutely refused to admit failings or mistakes of any kind, I wonder what he's up to & how Rove convinced him he had to say he erred, even indirectly.
5 - mschannon
Scott--let's link to each other's blogs. I just posted this on mine.
Nancy, I have no idea what compelled Bush to make that statement, especially considering there was absolutely no substance behind it. Weird, all weird.
In Jameson Veritas
6 - JustOneMan
Viva La Bush!
Long Live Rummy!
7 - Dave Nalle
Oh come now, don't you think Rummy has lived long enough. Shouldn't we just take him out and shoot him like a mad dog?
Dave
8 - handyguy
Boil it down to numbers:
Fewer than 5% of detainees have been charged or face pending charges.
56% have been released or are pending release - after being held for years without charges.
40% remain in Kafkaesque limbo - neither charges nor release are in their immediate prospects.
These figures are troubling to anyone with a heart and a mind.
9 - JustOneMan
Guys wake up ...wake up....
Rummy aint goin any where your were just dreamin...
10 - zingzing
jom... sometimes i can't believe you... all you can do is yawn and pledge allegiance to your king... defend them if you want. bush admitted the place makes us out to be hypocrites. what do you have to say? rumsfield may have been involved in illegal goings-on... defend him. most of the prisoners are just going to be let go because we can't try them. after having been locked up without trial for years! defend that.
you're just a waste of space unless you can contribute something... and you spelled exactly one word right in your last sentence.
11 - mschannon
Uh, Dave, if you're going to write stuff that gets me hauled in front of a secret committee, I want you to know right now I'll spill my guts if they so much as wave a chocolate chip cookie in front of me.
But while we're at it, why not make it a two-some and drag Chaney along as well. It really does make you wonder about Bush...those guys have to have pictures or something.
In Jameson Veritas
12 - Lumpy
So handy, by what you're saying about the numbers GITMO is going well' what with almost 2/3 of the detainees charged or released.
13 - mschannon
Lumpy, you gotta be kidding, right? Held for years without right of counsel, without the ability to see their family, with no recourse in the courts? When Bush admits its a blot on our ethical stature as a nation, the rest of the world sees it as as an oil spill the size of Canada--with apologies to my Canadian friends.
In Jameson Veritas
14 - Scott Butki
I put a link to your piece within my piece.
I think you'll like it.
15 - JustOneMan
RingDing...you sound a little paranoid...
Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic... that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox DID exist, and I'd have produced that key if they hadn't of pulled the Caine out of action....
"Why don't you get a toupee with some brains it!?!"
- Moe to Curly
16 - handyguy
What the numbers say to me is that we rounded up a lot of suspects, and were willing to make big mistakes and detain innocent people...casting a wide net as insurance against missing a genuinely dangerous terrorist. Or possibly arresting people not for what they had done, but for what we feared they might do in the future [sort of like the movie Minority Report].
This is the behavior of a paranoid, militarist government, not a democracy. And releasing more than half of them, while never admitting having made any mistakes, carries the whiff of incompetence as well.
17 - Scott Butki
Ok, here is my piece on Guantanamo Bay and the new movie.