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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Real Story Inside Guantanamo

Posted by: Tom DeLay at 12:17 PM

Some friends of mine brought my attention to the new book Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials, which explains military law and the inside story of these military commissions. The author, Kyndra Rotunda, is a former JAG lawyer who served on the prosecution team in Guantanamo Bay and as a legal advisor to an elite team of war crimes investigators. Through a series of entertaining first-hand accounts, Rotunda discusses and analyzes the laws governing the War on Terror, the Geneva Conventions, and the laws related to detainees held in Cuba.

Now I am fortunate enough to have books sent to me all the time, and while almost all are worth reading, there’s only so much time in the day. So I’m perusing it right now, but here are some highlights. Remember, this is coming from a first hand source involved in the legal affairs of these detainees. Now, why isn’t this reported? I encourage you all to join me in reading Honor Bound – after all, it’s books like these that help arm us with information as we argue with the liberals who care more about terrorist’s rights than those of Americans. And that includes our own Supreme Court.

Highlights after the jump…

The detainee who didn't want to leave…

"Not surprisingly, the army reviews detainee mail. The detainee's letter included poetic verses about the nice weather, and the beautiful sunsets over Guantanamo Bay. He closed the letter by saying something like, 'Wish you were here!'....Later I heard about a detainee who the army offered to release. But, when it informed the detainee, he said, 'No thanks. The weather will be nicer in my country next spring. I'll wait until then.'" Page 50

The Australian Taliban who demanded – and received– an $800 Brooks Brothers suit to wear to court – paid by the U.S. taxpayers.

"[David] Hicks' defense team filed a lengthy motion to prohibit the prosecutors from forcing the defendant to wear prison clothes at his trial. The motion was unnecessary because the accused was never required to wear a prison uniform to hearings. In fact, he wore an $800.00 Brooks Brothers suit – paid for by the U.S. government." Page 198

How terrorist detainees at Gitmo are treated better than United States citizens in American prisons.

"Detainees live in open bays, [they] eat their meals outside together around picnic tables and serve themselves in home-style fashion from large, communal pots. Camp Four offers both soccer fields and basketball courts. The U.S. government offers a selection of basketball shoes for detainees upon request....[I]n 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously...approved harsher prison conditions in an Ohio super-max prison, where prisoners remain in complete isolation twenty-four hours a day, with virtually no contact with the outside world, and sleep on floor mats under a light that is on all of the time....Ohio treats its prisoners more harshly than the military treats detainees in Guantanamo." Pages 54 and 55

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dskerman writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 2:38 PM
missing the point
are you kidding me?!? does anyone here really think that a few benign anecdotes somehow excuses inapropriate treatment. Moral standards of prisoner treatment is not a balancing act. If you give two prisoners ice cream sundays it doesn't make it ok to waterboard two others. If we are torturing anyone, we may as well be torturing everyone.
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Keith writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 2:49 PM
Hey dskerman
There is no torturing happening. There were three instances of waterboarding in 2003. Nothing since then. And waterboarding is not torture. I got worse growing up at my neighborhood pool.
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Trampling out the vintage writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 2:50 PM
Safe since 2001.
Period. If these barbaric idiots can treat our military with traps and bombs and kill their own country men, women and children, they can rot in any old dungeon. dskerman, you are obviosly on the wrong side. You can continue to wear your pink undies as long as you want, but I am greatful that I am safe today. Another good read is "Moment of Truth in Iraq". It puts things in perspective. Thank God you live in America. If you don't want to thank God, maybe that is your problem.
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CasualConservative writes:	Wednesday, July, 16, 2008 4:09 PM
With treatment like that...
...why would they want to leave? They've been given better food, actual bathing facilities, and their beards are free of lice! If anything, they should go home as ambassators to their countries telling all of their friends how well the American military treated them, and to pay no attention to the BBC, Al Jazeera, or the Democrat party talking points. CasualConservative.com
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ronnie writes:	Thursday, July, 17, 2008 12:52 AM
The bug man strikes again!
Amazing, I didn't know the bug man blogged.Although, I'm pretty sure, he's not the one writing anything. The man can barely speak English!
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Tike writes:	Thursday, July, 17, 2008 10:39 AM
Grow up people
go ahead and polish a turd but don't try and tell us that it is not a turd. America is a land of laws not lawlessness. The reality is that the law applies to everyone. If you don't like that, leave! I am sure some tinpot dictator would suit you better. Someone that will treat those barbarians with barbarity that you are so fond of. The folks here who feel that Gitmo is justified are either sadists, cowards or simply ignorant.
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RJ writes:	Thursday, July, 17, 2008 12:07 PM
Quotes:
"does anyone here really think that a few benign anecdotes somehow excuses inapropriate treatment." Turn around and see the entire point flying over your head: she's pointing out that there isn't any "inappropriate" treatment, and the vast majority of Americans realize this. And if you think waterboarding is "torture", you're a fool. The .mil makes our own men go through a session of it if they could potentially be doing it to others, for chrissakes. That ain't torture- sorry. "The folks here who feel that Gitmo is justified are either sadists, cowards or simply ignorant." Calling others "ignorant" when you have no idea what you're talking about is hilarious. You want to pretend there's some gawd-awful set of circumstances down there, but choose to ignore all evidence to the contrary.
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planet gene writes:	Thursday, July, 17, 2008 2:13 PM
It's All About Habeas Corpus
Habeas Corpus. It's either universally applied by the nation in all its dealings, or it's nowhere to be found. Gitmo is a prison, and the people who are held there have been denied their right to a fair trial. Our own democratic government is responsible for these unethical incarcerations. If this doesn't give you pause, you ain't payin' attention. What kills me is that this SHOULD be a conservative issue (the right of habeas corpus), but the conservatives (most, not all) are nervously whistling past the graveyard. When habeas corpus is suspended for our own citizenry, I sure hope the Second Amendment is still in force to bring it back. And we'll watch as a lot of conservatives parade before the TV cameras, rushing to explain why they turned their backs on the concept at the time it was most in need of being championed. Ask the Germans about their government misbehaving while they stood silent. Do they recommend it?
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connor writes:	Friday, July, 18, 2008 10:47 PM
How are we supposed to keep the House?
mr delay How are the conservative republicans supposed to gain back the majority in the house when mistakes by key repubican leaders and also with our unpopular hold in iraq which is making our wavy supporters faulter and go with the democrats but all i am trying to say mr delay is why are the democrats in the majority when republicans can be and should be in the majority.
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planet gene writes:	Saturday, July, 19, 2008 2:34 PM
The Key To Winning Today
Connor, I'm willing to bet that Republicans simply need to learn how to reach across the aisle and make some friends. If you must be ideologically pure and extremely to the right you will only dismay and perplex the American people, who aren't all that ideologically pure. You can't entice them to the right forever with promises of no gay marriages and Christmas displays in front of City Hall. They want jobs, not just tough love in the form of "Suck it up, Maggot; it's called globalization and it ain't goin' away." Obama will win because he keeps moving to the center. McCain will lose because he feels he needs to energize the conservative base by become Bush Lite. Obama will lose a few votes but gain many more; McCain the opposite. And the same goes for the Congressional races. Go ahead and stay pure if you must, but you'll pay for it.
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johninoregon writes:	Saturday, July, 19, 2008 9:02 PM
Proceed Directly to Jail
Thanks for the whitewash of this permanent stain on America's honor, Tom. Now let's hope that you start doing your own well-deserved "hard time" very soon.
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TopGun writes:	Sunday, July, 20, 2008 2:09 AM
Libs, Nothing but Regurgitated Garbage
I just love how the Congressman posts facts and the LOW IQ Libs come right behind and “ignore” the facts and go straight into their standard “repeat the brainwashing speech” they received that morning in their email box from their LOW IQ leaders. Keep posting the facts Congressman, the entertainment is PRICELESS.
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planet gene writes:	Sunday, July, 20, 2008 2:01 PM
Lib Bashing From TopGun
Okay, Toppie, so just what are the "facts"? That there is a group of people who should feel lucky that they are incarcerated, far from their homes and with no chance of seeing their relatives, and with little chance of a speedy trial? That terrorist detainees are treated better than if they were in a typical American prison? (I think Michael Moore found that one out long ago.) That one guy finagled an expensive suit? The first commenter was right in calling some of this stuff "benign anecdotes." In other cases, it's completely off the point. And I think we had this conversation before: That when conservatives accuse liberals of marching in lockstep with their masters it is not unlike liberals making the same accusation about conservatives, so the two cancel each other out. It's a tired argument, is all I'm saying. Really, it's an interjection, and no argument at all, and of no value. How about instead we just admit that conservatives, individually, think for themselves, and (su-prise, su-prise) liberals do the same? That way we can go immediately to the job of seeking the truth, which is a far more valuable exercise, don't you think?
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bob writes:	Sunday, July, 20, 2008 3:10 PM
Tike
I doubt if there has ever been a prison in the history of prisons that has been under more international scrutiny than GTMO. Frankly I have seen no credible evidence of torture or mistreatment in that facility. Are there first hand accounts from anyone other than some of the inmates? Because I expect inmates in most of the world think they have been mistreated in one way or another. And the funny thing is, most of the torture that happens in modern prisons happens at the hands of other inmates. Ask yourself this: what would happen if one of the inmates at GTMO renounced Islam to all his fellow prisoners and proclaimed faith in Judaism or Christianity or even Athiesm? Who do you expect would be more likely to torture him? The military guards or his fellow prisoners? I think you know the answer.
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planet gene writes:	Sunday, July, 20, 2008 6:26 PM
Who Cares How Nice It Is at Gitmo?
Bob, still they're being held without recourse, and that's wrong.
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