Turning the innocent, not only those who were grabbed and held for years but their countrymen and women, into potential foreign criminal terrorist, not winning hearts and minds and not being the law abiding country we not only claim but attack others for doing same!
Looks like much more of the cheney/bush years are continuing to collapse, and All Done In Our Names. This may explain the widespread push, especially from republicans? in Congress, they're figureheads around the Country and those connected to that administration but not in Government have so forcefully been pushing the fox nation types to rail against closing Gitmo and having No Trials of so called terrorist inside this Country and in our Courts. Courts of a supposedly Lawful Nation!
Truthout has updated an earlier report of what's coming down.
The following came across the wires earlier. This is about an ongoing battle to get top secret records on the torture of prisoners at Gitmo and probably other secret jails that were used as we were grabbing so called terrorists all over and most not caught on some "in theater battle field".
This is just on one British citizen who was Ethiopian born and grabbed in 2002 in Pakistan, not Afghanistan nor Iraq. And this is only seven short paragraphs on his, Binyam Mohamed's, treatment while in U.S. custody and incommunicado with anyone thousands of miles from home and family.
Last Thursday, 20 Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan spent the day on Capitol Hill making the case for closing the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Our Veterans wanted to convey to members of Congress that we are following the lead of distinguished military commanders like General David Petraeus, General Stanley McCrystal and General (Ret.) Colin Powell in wanting the facility closed as soon as possible. The GITMO facility is a symbol that is contrary to ideas that are long held American values. The America we love, that we fought for, does not indefinitely detain without charge and does not mistreat enemies in our care (or for that matter, innocents mistakenly detained and transferred there). These are values that are older than the Republic itself, first articulated by our first Commander-in-Chief, General George Washington, when he commanded the Continental Army.
But that America isn't the same as the one that has, in the past, existed within the GITMO detention facility. Those values have been violated, and those violations have served as a recruiting tool for extremists and international terrorists the world over. The mere existence of the facility has placed a greater number of enemy fighters on the battlefield to do harm to America servicemembers. Keeping GITMO open may be our greatest unforced error in the global fight against extremism.
That is why, with many of our friends still in harms way in Iraq and Afghanistan, we took to Capitol Hill to speak with members of Congress and tell them we don't want an extremist recruitment tool kept open so that more fighters can attempt to hurt our comrades.
Veterans meet with former Rep. Tom Andrews
Our day began with a meeting at the offices of New Security Action, a fellow member, with VoteVets.org, of the Campaign to Close Guantanamo. We were met by New Security Action co-founder and former Congressman Tom Andrews (D-ME). Andrews thanked us for our service and our continued activism on an important issue that, if we succeed, will keep American troops and citizens safer from extremism and terrorism. After planning our meetings for the day, it was off to the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
VoteVets.org Chairman Jon Soltz delivers our petition to Rep. George Miller (D-CA)
Veterans discuss closing GITMO with Rep. Miller (D-CA)
On the Capitol steps, we were met by Congressman George Miller (D-CA) where we delivered our petition with signatures from over 2,000 Veterans calling for the closure of GITMO. Rep. Miller accepted our petition and informed us how thankful he and other members of Congress are for the work we are doing. He acknowledged the need to close GITMO as well as the power of the voices of Veterans on the issue.
Veterans discuss closing GITMO with Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA)
Veterans discuss closing GITMO with Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA)
We next traveled to the Congressional office buildings, stopping first at the office of Veterans' Affairs Chairman Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) do deliver another copy of our petition. Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan explained our position on why, from our perspective, closing GITMO is important. Rep. Filner supported our position. He did have concern for how the plan would get through Congress, but felt confident that we could get it done. He acknowledged the influence that Veterans of current conflicts have over the debate, and it was an altogether productive meeting.
After our meeting with Rep. Filner, our Vets split into different groups to meet in offices around the Hill. Several New York Veterans had the opportunity to meet with staff members in the office of Congressman Peter King (R-NY). Rep. King has opposed closing GITMO, but his staff did reveal one position that surprised us: Rep. King will support funding the move to the Thompson correction facility in Illinois if that was the ultimate outcome of the debate.
Veterans meet with a staff member for Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
Another group of Veterans headed to the Senate side of the Hill to meet with Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and DeMint (R-SC), while VoteVets.org Chairman Jon Soltz, Iraq Veteran and Kentucky native Geroge Zabaty and myself popped in for a visit with Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
I must say, while I've never been a fan of Sen. McConnell, his staff are some of the friendliest people on the Hill. We were met by a staffer who listened intently to our concerns, particularly to those of McConnell's constituent Zubaty. The staffer stated that Sen. McConnell was extremely thankful for our service, appreciated our visit that day, and that his top concern was the safety of the American people. While we assuredly differ on what methods best keep America safe, we could not have asked for a more cordial meeting from someone opposed to us on the issue.
Our counterparts relayed that the meeting with Senator Joseph Lieberman's (I-CT) staff went much the same as our meeting with McConnell's, but they were not met with as much cordiality by the staff of Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC). While not outright hostile, Sen. DeMint's staff seemed much more combative, even questioning what the difference is between keeping detainees at GITMO or at the correctional facilitiy in Thompson, Illinois. Apparently, Senator DeMint's staff is unaware that no one has ever used the image of Thompson, Illinois to recruit terrorists.
Veterans meet with a staffer for Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
After our group meetings, our Vets met at a rally point outside the office of Massachusetts' Senior Senator, John Kerry, to meet with a member of his staff. Kerry's staffer thanked us for coming to visit the Senator's office to discuss closing GITMO and assured us that Senator Kerry was on our side on this issue, and would fight diligently to end the enemy's ability to use the detention facility as a recruiting tool.
After the meeting with Senator Kerry, I had to head to another part of DC to take care of some other business, but the remaining Vets met with Senator Mark Udall (D-CO). Personally, I was disappointed to miss this meeting. The military fellow in Sen. Udall's office was one of my NCO's in the 82nd, and the Senator himself is always a great person to speak with. The Vets who did get to meet with Sen. Udall stated that this meeting was no different. Sen. Udall noted his enthusiastic support for the closure of Guantanamo and encouraged the Vets present that their continued advocacy for the issue would insure that closure happens.
So, after a long, yet inspiring day of traversing the hallways of Capital Hill, the 20 Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made their way back to the places around the country where their pilgrimage began. Three things stood out me more than anything else last week: the respect our lawmakers and their staffs have for every American who has served honorably in uniform, the importance of the voice of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans on closing GITMO, and the fact that with the enthusiastic support of member of Congress, we will accomplish the task of making our troops in harms way safer, and our country more secure by closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Suddenly, former speech writers are expert interrogators. If you haven't seen it, CNN's Christiane Amanpour hosted a debate between former Presidential speechwriter Marc Thiessen and author Philippe Sands.
Thiessen, who has never served in uniform (a career media guy), seems to have all the answers about what works in interrogations. But maybe he should have checked his facts, as Scott Horton did:
My favorite part of the interview is when Sands calls Thiessen out for chickening out of the waterboarding that he espouses is not torture.
Apparently Thiessen cannot use Google, which is stunning considering he is a former speech writer. Because if he could use an internet search engine, then he could easily find the two major precedents in International Law and U.S. Law that have ruled waterboarding is torture (the post World War II Tokyo Trials and a case in Texas where a Sheriff and his deputies were convicted for waterboarding criminal suspects).
As Horton points out, Thiessen doesn't even know Geneva Conventions, which outlaws inhumane treatment for all categories of detainees, not just legal combatants.
Thiessen, in the words of former Rear Admiral John Huston, is the prototypical 'pseudo-tough' torture endorser -- someone who's never put on the uniform or gone to combat but is more than willing to help recruit new terrorists that will kill those of us who do.
A little history lesson for you, Marc. Since you used to write Presidential speeches, here are some penned lines from former Presidents:
"Should any American soldier be so base and infamous as to injure any [prisoner]. . . I do most earnestly enjoin you to bring him to such severe and exemplary punishment as the enormity of the crime may require. Should it extend to death itself, it will not be disproportional to its guilt at such a time and in such a cause... for by such conduct they bring shame, disgrace and ruin to themselves and their country." - George Washington, charge to the Northern Expeditionary Force, Sept. 14, 1775
"If torture isn't wrong, then nothing is wrong." -- Abraham Lincoln
"I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture and in undertaking to prevent other cruel and unusual punishment. I call on all nations to speak out against torture in all its forms and to make ending torture an essential part of their diplomacy." -- President George W. Bush, June 26, 2003, the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
(Note: These words were spoken before Thiessen arrived in The White House)
In the process of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, one big hurdle is the question of what to do with the detainees that we have not yet been able to convince any other country to take off our hands. One proposal is for the detainees to be transferred to a prison in Thompson, Illinois which currently sits nearly empty.
The prison has 1,600 cells but only currently houses about 150 inmates. More than enough room at the inn for the less than 300 detainees remaining at GITMO. Not only is the facility large enough to hold the detainees, NIMBY be damned, Thompson citizens are in favor of it as well:
News that the federal government seems interested in transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the Thomson Correctional Center was greeted warmly in this small, rural farm town along the Iowa border.
After holding out hope that the sprawling $145 million prison might improve the economic conditions in this remote area of the state, residents say any prisoners would be a welcomed sight.
"It would help the businesses here, and God knows we could use that," said Kay Lawton, 59, a Thomson resident. "It doesn't matter to me who they bring here."
"A murderer is a murderer no matter where he's from," [Thomson Village President Jerry] Hebeler said. "That's the way I look at it." [...]
"As long as it's safe and we're protected, I'm comfortable with it," Hebeler said. "Maybe this is something that will put us on the map."
Of course, a chorus of disapproval will pretend they know what's good for Thompson better than Thomson residents, with Republican Reps. Don Manzullo and Mark Kirk already engaging in pant-wetting hysteria. But three prominent conservatives have already endorsed the proposal:
Republicans in Congress are gearing up to fight a new White House effort to relocate detainees at Guantanamo Bay to a prison facility in Illinois. But on Sunday, a group of highly respected conservative figures lent their support to the transfer, calling it necessary to "preserve national security" while simultaneously avoiding "sweeping and radical departures from an American constitutional tradition."
In a joint statement prepared by the Constitution Project, David Keene, founder of American Conservative Union, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, and former representative and presidential candidate Bob Barr say moving suspected terrorists to the Thomson, Illinois prison facility, "makes good sense." Taxpayers, they note, have already invested $145 million in the facility, which has been "little used." And the surrounding community, they add, could benefit from increased employment once the prison becomes filled.
"The scaremongering about these issues should stop," they add, noting that there is "absolutely no reason to fear that prisoners will escape or be released into their communities."
What the endorsement from Norquist, Barr and Keene illustrates is that those opposed to the idea are doing nothing but engaging in a fear-mongering pander for political gain, not to mention that they possess an apparent lack of faith in the ability of Thompson's citizens to secure their correctional facility.
The most irritating thing for a blogger is letting a story permeate in your mind for several hours in order to discern the angle from which you are going to cover it, and then someone else comes along and puts words on the issue that address it so perfectly that there is nothing you could possibly add. Such is the case with Sarah Palin's moronic Facebook soliloquy on Khalid Sheik Mohammed (wherein she joins John Boehner in a lack of faith of the American way):
The trial will afford Mohammed the opportunity to grandstand and make use of his time in front of the world media to rally his disgusting terrorist cohorts. It will also be an insult to the victims of 9/11, as Mohammed will no doubt use the opportunity to spew his hateful rhetoric in the same neighborhood in which he ruthlessly cut down the lives of so many Americans.
What's an actual insult to the victims of 9/11 is the idea that America is not strong enough to withstand the blatherings of a mass murderer. For me, the prospect of KSM grandstanding at his trial falls into I-wish-a-motherfucker-would territory. I want to hear how KSM builds a case against America, because everyone will hear how laughably conspiratorial and clownish it is. Think of what a cathartic moment it will be when America sees the face of the man considered to be UBL's most efficient henchman and he delivers a pitiful harangue to a bank of cameras. No one will be emboldened to do anything but laugh.
STATEMENT ON TRANSFER OF KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED,
OTHER TERRORISTS TO U.S. TO FACE TRIAL
Washington, DC -- Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are strongly supporting the announcement by Attorney General Eric Holder that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and four other terrorists are being transferred to the U.S. to face trial.
Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org said in a statement:
"Finally, after years and years, those responsible for the worst terror attack on America will start to face American justice.
"Showing the world that we operate on a higher moral plane than fiefdoms, theocracies and dictatorships when it comes to justice will be a dagger in the heart of al Qaeda recruiting, as Guantanamo Bay has been one of the terror group's most effective recruiting posters. That helps our troops, and protects America.
"Additionally, this will prove that Liz and Dick Cheney, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and their cohorts have been engaging in pure politics. Contrary to what they've said, transferring detainees to the US to face justice and punishment will be secure, safe, and strong, as it has been for nearly 200 other terrorists. Once that becomes evident, it will be clear that their only interest in opposing real justice was to take down President Obama -- American security be damned."
VoteVets.org is part of the Campaign to Close Guantanamo, found at www.closegitmonow.org.
VoteVets.org is the leading progressive, pro-military organization of veterans, dedicated to the destruction of terror networks around the world, with force when necessary. It primarily focuses on education and advocacy on issues of importance to the troops and veterans, and holding politicians accountable for their actions on these issues.
VETERANS STAND WITH MUSICIANS ON CALL TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO
Senior Interrogator, Counter-Intelligence Agent
Stand Firm Against Liz Cheney's helping al Qaeda
recruit by keeping Gitmo open
WASHINGTON, DC - Veterans with experience in interrogations and intelligence are standing with musicians who have joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo (which includes VoteVets.org), and hitting back at those who argue that the prison facility in Cuba should be kept open.
Earlier in the week, a coalition of US and international musicians, including Trent Reznor, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Jackson Browne, Rise Against, Rosanne Cash, Billy Bragg and the Roots announced they were joining the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo (www.closegitmonow.org)
"Guantanamo Bay remains an effective recruiting tool for Al Qaida to this day. The longer it remains open, the longer we'll fail to do all we can to protect ourselves from terrorist attacks. It is the epitome of everything we could have done wrong in the fight against Islamic extremism -- unlawful detentions without charge and torture and abuse. We can only defeat ourselves in this battle, and Guantanamo Bay was, and remains, a big step in that direction," said Matthew Alexander, a former senior military interrogator who led the team that found Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the former leader of Al Qaida in Iraq. Alexander has conducted over 300 interrogations and supervised more than 1,000. He is the author of How to Break a Terrorist.
A radical neo-conservative group led by Liz Cheney called those who are fighting to close Guantanamo "pathetic" in a story in the Washington Times on Thursday.
Yet, a former counter-intelligence agent in Afghanistan saw first-hand that it's Cheney who is off-base. Jay Bagwell, who served in Afghanistan said in a video recorded previously for VoteVets.org, "Torture makes our troops less safe. Torture creates terrorists. It's used so widely as a propaganda tool, now. In Afghanistan, all too often detainees had pamphlets on them depicting what happened at Guantanamo." That video can be found here:
VoteVets.org is the leading pro-troop, pro-security progressive group of war veterans. It recently joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, with Retired Generals Bob Gard and John Johns, and former US Congressman Tom Andrews. The campaign will support President Obama's call to close the prison and urge Congress to reject the scare tactics of Dick Cheney, and the far right, and shut down Guantanamo.
A couple of days ago, I chronicled the quickening departure of some big military names from the Republican party, those concerned about the party moving even farther to the right a number of issues, including torture. What struck me at the time is that General David Petraeus came out against torture and for closing Guantanamo.
I was stunned, however, when he admitted today that the United States has violated the Geneva Conventions. Without saying specifically how we did (though it doesn't take much imagination to figure it out), Petraeus said on FOX News:
Question: So is sending this signal that we're not going to use these kind of techniques anymore, what kind of impact does this have on people who do us harm in the field that you operate in?
Gen. Petraeus: Well, actually what I would ask is, "Does that not take away from our enemies a tool which again have beaten us around the head and shoulders in the court of public opinion?" When we have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions we rightly have been criticized, so as we move forward I think it's important to again live our values, to live the agreements that we have made in the international justice arena and to practice those.
Today, VoteVets.org released a powerful new video, featuring Jay Bagwell, who was counterintel in Afghanistan.
It's yet another voice from someone who knows, against the use of torture. But, stunningly, Jay recounts how some detainees brought in actually had pamphlets on them portraying the facility at Guantanamo.
And, Jay says, "I believe that an atmosphere was created by the civilian leadership in this country, where there was a systematic, widespread, premeditated emphasis on employing torture unnecessarily."
This has to be investigated now. Whether its an outside commission or Congressional panel doesn't matter as much as the truth being investigated and presented to the American people.
You can help make that happen, by signing our petition here:
Last year, those on the right loved General Petraeus. You couldn't debate anyone on the neocon side without them trying to hide behind the General. There were even rumors swirling that Republicans would recruit him to be their nominee in 2012. Then, supporters of Governor Palin found their new nominee for 2012, but they think General Petraeus would make a fine subordinate to the Governor in a Dream Ticket in four years.
Well, don't look now, but our friend Sam Stein at the Huffington Post reports:
General David Petraeus said this past weekend that President Obama's decision to close down Gitmo and end harsh interrogation techniques would benefit the United States in the broader war on terror.
General Petraeus goes on to say that he believes we need to stay within the Geneva Convention, and that closing Gitmo "sends an important message to the world, as does the commitment of the United States to observe the Geneva Convention when it comes to the treatment of detainees."
Of course, this flies in the face of the Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney crowd - those who believe that we're safer when we do things that serve as great recruiting tools for al Qaeda.
I'm guessing this disqualifies him from any kind of "Draft Petraeus" efforts on the Republican side.
September 11, 2001. This was the date that the Bush Administration decided it could foment it's own set of Enabling Acts and circumvent the Constitution to gain unprecedented power. All they had to do was whip up enough fear amongst the populace so we wouldn't question the profound loss of the principles we theoretically stood for.
Unfortunately for us, most of these policies and practices have been counter-productive, weakened our national security and have led to feverish recruitment and support for our enemies. The practice of locating detainees in a geographical grey area, labeling said detainees with an equally ambiguous title, and conducting torture.....have knocked us off of whatever moral high ground we may have been on up to 11 September.
Sadly, proponents of said undemocratic practices label this debate in terms of left/right, Republican/Democrat. They do this because they cannot argue the merits in terms of morality and constitutionality.
Claims of legality for the basis of Gitmo itself due to being 'at war' fall equally flat, as we're not legally 'at war' with anyone. The methodology of deciding who earned residency at Gitmo was sloppy at best; the Bush Administration stated emphatically that these 'terrorists' were 'very hard cases' and the 'worst of the worst'; yet has released over 500 since Camp Delta opened. The fact that many came to us via rival and destitute Afghani warlords and the Pakistani military speaks volumes towards the efficacy of our entire policy.
Guantanamo is more than just a geographic location, it is a state of mind; one where we tell the world that we're not going to abide by the principles we preach; one where we state manifestly, that our system is shallow, corrupt and imperial.
This is the crux of the problem with the concept of a 'War on [insert vague and undefined tactic here]'. We are at war......except we're not. The Bush Administration decided, with it's version of Enabling Acts, that it could use a terrorist attack to justify creating new and unregulated areas of jurisprudence and wholesale widening of Federal powers. One wonders how long it takes for the current opposition party to rail against such similar executive mandates.
Ironically, proponents of such polices wish to define the detainees at POW's when it suits them and then deny that status to detainees when pressed on the treatment of them.
Not to mention that our policy of torture and indefinite imprisonment.....and.....the mere symbol of Guantanamo Bay, has led to a recruitment boon for our enemies. The hypocritical facet of the 'support the troops' crowd is strangely silent when the fact arises that this further endangers our forces in theater.
It's quite sad that the very people who beat their chest and bleat to the heavens of how much they support the troops.......support every policy that is counter-productive to not only the welfare of our armed forces, but additionally violate the tenets of every creed in the services; and do so in the name of their political persuasion......believing somehow, that only liberals are opposing this grand imperialism that we have practiced [in full measure] for the last eight years.
Gitmo has been a recruitment boon to our enemy; has violated every principle we claim to uphold; and has brought us down to par with our enemies.....and we wonder why our standing amongst democracies is in the basement?
There's debating on emotion and there's debating on fact. Those who are willfully blind to fact have no other recourse than the shallow vacuous diatribes of bloviating and party meme's.
The bipartisan and respected Center for Strategic and International Studies recently published the results of a working group that studied the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility, and the pro's and con's of closing it.
From the CSIS report titled: Closing Guantanamo; From Bumper Sticker to Blueprint.......published prior to the outcome of the Presidential election.
Regarding Gitmo in general:
The final element of the new policy would be to prosecute them through the US criminal justice system. The record of the criminal justice system concerning the prosecution of international terrorism cases far outshines that of the Guantanamo military commissions: since 2001, 145 conviction versus 2 conviction. Overall, this straightforward policy can help restore our reputation as a country that is built on and embraces the rule of law.
Restoring the US reputation will have national security benefits. The working group concluded that the United States has been damaged by Guantanamo beyond any immediate security benefits. Our enemies have achieved a propaganda windfall that enables recruitment to violence, while our friends have found it more difficult to cooperate with us.
In the view of many around the world, Guantanamo represents indefinite detention, torture and abuse. Its continued existence is a potent recruiting tool for our enemies and discourages cooperation with our friends. No amount of tinkering - even substantial changes - would fix this problem. Guantanamo does serve as a recruitment tool for al Qaeda. It has cost the United States leverage in many policy realms.
Regarding intelligence:
Finally we addressed detention as it relates to intelligence collection and the related value of holding someone over the long term. Our working group meetings with retired intelligence and military officers suggested to us, however, that at this point those detained at Guantanamo provide neither substantial strategic nor tactical intelligence value. These officers were unanimous in the view that any value that might have been gleaned was non-existent six years into detention.
It justly concludes:
Never again, if our country is attacked, should we frantically engage in techniques that our enemies have used against our uniformed service members in times of war. We are better than that. We can do better than that. We must be prepared to do better than that.
What's sad is that given our past national stance against torture, and given the historical and academic fact that torture is not effective, many simply see the actions of our enemy and so easily discard any shred of moral fiber that separates us from them. True patriots do not mitigate ideals and principles based on anger at the actions of another. When the actions of our government are detrimental and counter-productive to the safety of our nation and her citizens, that constitutes incompetence if not outright treason.
The public at large won't care....they're too stupid to care. The President of these United States emphatically stated that 'we don't torture' and was subsequently contradicted by numerous members of his own administration and military......and yet we have loyal myrmidons willingly and energetically supporting such acts that are treasonous to the ideals this nation is supposed to stand for.
I witnessed detainee abuse in Iraq and did not report it. This moral failing is my own burden, one I will carry with me for the rest of my life. But it has also influenced how I look at headlines about torture, from Abu Ghraib to the recent revelations about GITMO.
The detainees I saw being abused might have been guilty when they came in. But I am sure that after being treated the way they were, they walked out full of rage and more likely to attack Americans. On a larger scale, I believe that the ability of insurgents in Iraq and terrorists worldwide to use US treatment of detainees in Iraq and GITMO for propaganda has caused significant harm. According the Washington Post, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair agrees that waterboarding and other 'enhanced interrogation techniques' (read: torture) do more harm than good: "The bottom line is these techniques have hurt our image around the world. . .The damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security."
After the Abu Ghraib scandal broke, I talked to the Warrant Officer who was in charge of the Cage (what everyone called the detainee holding facility) where I witnessed detainee abuse. He told me that he had gotten the impression from friends and colleagues -- the Intel Community is a small world -- that those "at the highest levels" were sending out clear signals that detainees in the Global War on Terror did not need to be treated according to the standards required by the Geneva Conventions for enemy prisoners of war.
Well, the recently declassified Congressional report released Tuesday confirms this -- according to this New York Times article, the paper trail leads directly to Rumsfeld.
There have been lots of questions raised -- about the history and effectiveness of these techniques, the impact on those tortured, the larger foreign policy implications -- all of which are important considerations. There is, however, one aspect of the conversation that I believe has been neglected: What does this do to those committing the acts?
Some of those who participated in the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment (please check out that site -- it is totally fascinating!) struggled with their experiences later, one "felt sick at who he had become." Another said,
I had really thought that I was incapable of this kind of behavior. I was surprised, no I was dismayed to find out I could really be a-that I could act in a manner so absolutely unaccustomed to anything I would ever really dream of doing. And while I was doing it, I didn't feel any regret. I didn't feel any guilt. It was only after, afterwards when I began to reflect on what I had done. That this began to, this behavior began to dawn on me and I realized that this was a part of me I hadn't really noticed before.
In this experiment, "about a third of the guards were hostile, arbitrary, and inventive in their forms of prisoner humiliation. These guards appeared to thoroughly enjoy the power they wielded, yet none of our preliminary personality tests were able to predict this behavior." That was an experiment - now make it real life, knowing that your fellow Americans, your comrades in arms, are at risk, and that you may be able save lives by pushing those lines - it is no surprise at all that waterboarding happened, that Abu Ghraib happened. But what has it done to us?
If soldiers -- or CIA personnel, or anyone -- spend months demeaning, mistreating, or even torturing other human beings, what does that do to them in the long run? How do these people treat their spouses or small children when they come home? Do they have nightmares later? Do they begin to doubt themselves? In all of the high-level discussions, the debate on whether or not these documents should have been released, let us not lose sight of this: those who were encouraged by our highest levels of government to commit torture, they too are victims.
Those spreading or falling for the cheney/bush administration spin on the Released Guantanamo Prisoners going directly back into the Guerilla/Insurgent conflict and or Criminal Terrorism might want to educate themselves on the studies exposing that the government numbers just don't Tell The Truth, not surprising!!
On the Rachel Maddow show last night, 1-16-09. she had a discussion with Professor Mark P. Denbeaux, Director of Seton Hall Law Center for Policy and Research, who supervises a group of talented Seton Hall students in preparing a series of Reports concerning the United States Navy Station at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
I don't know if folks have yet written about this, but I'm in at the tail-end of this book by Mahvish Khan, an American lawyer of Afghan descent who has helped a particular law firm represent detainees.
As difficult as it is to stomach (even though as a matter of logic I realize we are no less capable of atrocity than any other people), I think it's a must-read.
Ms. Khan's perspective and the stories of some of detainees themselves, as well as observations of what's happened to Afghanistan since 2001, are shattering (at least to me).
It's difficult to believe that we would lock folks up for years, let alone abuse and torture them simply because some relative or neighbor wanted to collect a bounty. I knew the bounty system existed, but it just didn't occur to me that we'd never give a shit, pardon my French, whether there was any evidence whatsoever against the people in question. It seems, however, that's exactly what happened to the vast majority of those sent to Guantanamo.
Seven years, hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced from their country, several trillion dollars spent (including estimates of future costs), and all we've really got show for it is ... (drum-roll) ... a sentence of 5.5 years for Osama's driver. Fracking amazing.
Before I post up what I brought I'd like to point out that when Our Government changes It's Policies to Match those of what we call enemies it Endangers All The Troops in Active Theaters as well as the citizens of this country!!
And it leaves us not only open to condemnation but at a place where we cannot condemn others!!
McClatchy has started a series today on our 'War on Terror'.
McClatchy tracked down 66 men released from Guantanamo in the most systematic survey to date of prisoners held there. Many had no connection to terrorism, but their experience turned them against America.
Lets see Saddam, even though we installed and supported him, Had To Go. Because he Arrested the Innocent and his 'Henchmen' Tortured and Killed many of those arrested, as well as Killing and Maiming Tens of Thousands of Iraqi's. Those are only a Couple of the many 'Nobel Cause' Reasons for the Righteousness of Invading, Destroying, and Occupying Iraq for our National Security!
Tired of hearing about the US economy tanking and the resulting malaise, well... here's some good news for any American. One of Osama's top guys has been detained (well he was actually detained months ago, but now we know about it publicly):
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Rahim was a close associate of Bin Laden and had ties to al-Qaeda groups throughout the Middle East.
"He is one of [Osama Bin Laden's] most trusted facilitators and procurement specialists," Mr Whitman said.
"He helped prepare Tora Bora as a hideout for Osama Bin Laden. He assisted al-Qaeda's exodus from the area in late 2001."
Taking them out one at a time. I emailed my buddy who works at Gitmo and asked him for an autograph.
Omar Khadr's lawyers say they can't understand why Canada is not doing more to help their client in light of new evidence that Ottawa has put the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on a watch list for torture.
Khadr -- a Canadian citizen who was just 15-years-old when he was captured in Afghanistan more than five years ago and taken to Guantanamo -- has claimed that he has been tortured at the prison.
"The welcome mat for memoirs by veterans of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom might never wear out so long as they write with the savvy of Brandon Friedman . . . Friedman's take is vivid, frank, precise and dramatic."--Military Times
"Add Brandon Friedman's The War I Always Wanted to the ranks of outstanding non-fiction produced by officers from elite combat units in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Always truthful, often excruciatingly so, The War I Always Wanted rises at numerous points to the level of literature."--Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire
"A Time To Lead confirms the rewarding benefits of military service at a time when such service is experiencing considerable strain. It also includes a comprehensive description of America's current national imperatives, which deserve serious consideration."--General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former Secretary of State
"This is a primer on leadership forged in battle and by decades of experience. . .This isn't just a book; it's a manual for leading people and living a good life."--Barry McCaffrey, General, USA (ret.)
"Whip smart, sassy, with a mouth as foul as a sailor's, 28-year-old Sergeant Kayla Williams. . .tells what it's like to be a female soldier in Iraq."--Booklist
". . .echoes military memoirists from Julius Caesar to Ernie Pyle."--Publishers Weekly
". . .a shocking, on-the-ground view of one military woman's experience in Iraq."--Bookmarks Magazine
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Last Thursday, 20 Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan spent the day on Capitol Hill making the case for closing the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Our Veterans wanted to convey to members of Congress that we are following the lead of distinguished military commanders like General David Petraeus, General Stanley McCrystal and General (Ret.) Colin Powell in wanting the facility closed as soon as possible. The GITMO facility is a symbol that is contrary to ideas that are long held American values. The America we love, that we fought for, does not indefinitely detain without charge and does not mistreat enemies in our care (or for that matter, innocents mistakenly detained and transferred there). These are values that are older than the Republic itself, first articulated by our first Commander-in-Chief, General George Washington, when he commanded the Continental Army.
Guards sit in a tower overlooking Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. This image has been reviewed and approved by U.S. Department of Defense.
David Swanson, over at After Downing Street, has this up 
and, Washington DC January 11, 2008
