...Guantanamo! [rquoter]Review Finds Detainees' Treatment Legal Pentagon Report on Guantanamo Urges More Interaction for Some, Official Says By Peter Finn and Del Quentin Wilber Saturday, February 21, 2009; A03 A Pentagon review of conditions at the Guantanamo Bay military prison has concluded that the treatment of detainees meets the requirements of the Geneva Conventions but that prisoners in the highest-security camps should be allowed more religious and social interaction, according to a government official who has read the 85-page document. The report, which President Obama ordered, was prepared by Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, the vice chief of naval operations, and has been delivered to the White House. Obama requested the review as part of an executive order on the planned closure of the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, on the southeastern tip of Cuba. Another aspect of the closure -- what to do with the approximately 245 detainees -- will be considered by an interagency task force, and yesterday the Justice Department announced the head of that group: Matthew G. Olsen, a 12-year career prosecutor and acting assistant attorney general for national security. Review teams will examine each detainee's case and report to Olsen, who will make recommendations to senior officials from Justice and other agencies, including the departments of State and Defense and the CIA. Those officials will make the final decision on each prisoner. "The Task Force will consider whether it is possible to transfer or release detained individuals consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States; evaluate whether the government should seek to prosecute detained individuals for crimes they may have committed; and, if none of those options are possible, the Task Force will recommend other lawful means for disposition of the detained individuals," the Justice Department said in a statement. Defense attorneys for the detainees have complained bitterly about the isolation of some prisoners. They allege that over several years, it has led to mental problems for some detainees. The lawyers also have criticized the force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike. About 40 prisoners are now on hunger strike, according to Pentagon officials. Walsh concluded that force-feeding, which involves strapping detainees to special chairs and inserting a tube through one nostril and into their stomachs, is in compliance with the Geneva Conventions' mandate that the lives of prisoners be preserved, according to the government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the report publicly. Walsh also found that prisoners should be allowed more communal recreation and prayer time. Prisoners in Camp 6 and the highly secret Camp 7 -- which holds such high-value detainees as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed organizer of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- can be held in windowless cells for up to 22 hours a day. Walsh said the most isolated prisoners, including those in Camp 7, should be allowed to pray and have recess together in rotating groups of at least three for more extended periods of time. Walsh's report was a broad endorsement of the Pentagon's management of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, and it urged prison authorities to continue efforts across the system to maximize the ability of the detainees to socialize and practice their religion, according to the government official. "Continue to avoid actions that are disrespectful to the detainees," Walsh wrote. Civil liberties groups, including the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is about to issue a report on conditions at the prison, challenged Walsh's findings. "We do think conditions are in violation of U.S. obligations to treat prisoners humanely, and prisoners are at a physical and mental breaking point," said Pardiss Kebriaei, a staff lawyer at the center. "These are not the conclusions we had hoped for under Obama. It's very disappointing." Attorneys representing detainees singled out force-feeding as particularly abusive. Ahmed Zaid Salem Zuhair, a Saudi who has been on a hunger strike since the summer of 2005, has lost so much weight during his time at Guantanamo Bay that a federal judge has ordered an independent medical evaluation of him. Zuhair's attorney, Ramzi Kassem, said his client has been strapped to an uncomfortable chair for hours at a time during feedings and described the procedure as very painful. "They deliberately use this brutal method that has no medical justification to put pressure on people like my client to give up the hunger strike," he said. Kassem added that his client, who has been cleared for release, was recently moved to Camp 6, where he is on nearly round-the-clock lockdown in a frigid cell. Walsh, however, found that the temperature in cells is comfortable and urged officials to continue to use climate controls correctly. David Remes, another attorney who represents a hunger striker, called the force-feeding methods "torture." The medical staff often uses tubes that are too big, he said, and does not provide lubrication and anesthetic to ease the process. Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey D. Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, dismissed Remes's allegations as "false," saying that tubes are appropriately sized and that detainees are offered a variety of lubricants, including olive oil, and a gel anesthetic. Guantanamo Bay has a series of facilities with differing levels of security. Prisoners deemed dangerous or not in compliance with prison rules are held in Camps 5 and 6, where recreation time is restricted and there is little or no opportunity for group activity. In Camp 4, by contrast, detainees can gather in dorms or a common area for much of the day, and there are classes, including English and art, as well as a makeshift soccer pitch. Little is known about Camp 7, which is at a secret location at Guantanamo Bay and off limits even to military attorneys representing the men there. It houses those detainees who were formerly held at secret CIA prisons.[/rquoter]
will it kill you if you simply copied and pasted this on the subject? "[WaPo]: Review Finds Detainees' Treatment Legal" or I guess the validity of your point is strengthed with using B-Ho or B-Fro on the subject line
no more than it would kill others to stop leaping to ridiculous, completely unsupported conclusions, despite repeated evidence to the contrary. in any case, further proof, if any were still needed, that opposition to Guantanamo was not about principle, but rather, all about the politics. W understood this i think, and w/ the utmost restraint refused to fight his critics on their level- to the short term detriment of his reputation. history will however, be much more balanced.
basso, like the rest of wingnuttia, long ago stopped caring about making a convincing arguement. His mission here is to just try and post stuff that he thinks will piss liberals off.
You guys don't see the comparison between Frodo and Obama??!!! C'mon is soooooooo obvious!!! But damn you all for jumping to conclusions!
if you're going to keep using it then answer my question with respect to the developmentally disabled.
And when history sees the Bush appointed life long Republican Judge who's job it was to oversee this stuff, admit that there was torture going on Gitmo, it will be fair, and Harsh to gitmo. Of course you ignore that piece of evidence, but come back later and try and pretend like it never existed, and it was all politics. It isn't now, and wasn't then. Sorry but a life long republican member of Bush's staff, isn't just playing politics.
I'm guessing basso doesn't realize he's basically reading the "how to lose an election to an incumbent playbook" word for word.
Please stop. Nobody here believes the weak excuse that you thought up on the fly about Frodo. In order for a joke to make sense, there would have to be some correlation between Obama and Frodo. There being none, the joke makes no sense. Therefore, that is certainly not what you meant. You have two choices: 1) You are guilty as charged, or 2) You have made a joke that makes no sense, thus are mentally lacking and happen to be a complete Lord of the Rings dork. Which is it?
Reminding people constantly of every little thing Obama does that isn't a 180 degree reversal from Bush only serves to... 1) make you look bitter and petty (which is proven, time and time again, to put off voters) 2) remind people of the Bush legacy (not exactly something you want to be doing to gin up support) 3) illustrate how much more change is needed (which I seriously doubt Republicans will make their platform in 2012) So your frustration is well founded...
