Guantanamo Bay

[Don Giovanni 0]

you are making the assumption that they were "innocent" to begin with. And I dont really believe people change into murderers/terrorists.

what the hell? then how are there terrorists and murders? they are born that way? they come out of the womb as murders? lol stick to random insults because your logic is nonexistent.

[Don Giovanni 0]

Because people just morph into murders when they sleep over elsewhere.

hahahaha sleep over elsewhere? are you real? come on seriously, whoevers behind this joke account just come out and say it. youve already crushed every other joke account ever.

[copernicus 0]

hahahaha sleep over elsewhere? are you real? come on seriously, whoevers behind this joke account just come out and say it. youve already crushed every other joke account ever.

look in the mirror

[SlapStick 0]

For what it's worth I know a guard who served at Gitmo. Slap stick makes it sound like we are the bad guys here torturingconvicts. Let me give you a real clue as to what it's like there.The Arabs who are in detention are not touched or tortured.The Arabs do spend all the time trying to mentally and physically torture the guards though. When guards walk down the hallthey constantly talk and yell about anything possible to the them like screwing and raping and murdering their families if they getout.The other fun thing they do is take any bodily fluids, piss, shit, semen, spit, mucous, excrement and make little bombs to hurl at the guards.Most guards literally can't take it and don't last, many having breakdowns and needing psychiatric help.Most of these detainees want nothing more than to kill and torture Americans.Yet you propose we play nice and send them back home and we are the bad guys. Nice.

This is a hilarious post. Noone ever said "send them back"Oh, a guy that works there says there is no torture and the prisoners are animal that throw shit.Ah ok, the huge human rights movement should be informed about this.There is torture, such as waterboarding. Prisoners being tied up so they can't see, hear, or feel anything, Stripped naked, humilated.Sorry if a US soldiers word hasn't changed the whole outlook on what goes on there. There are proven cases of innoncent people being locked up there and subjected to torture for over 7 years there.The reason "none will take them" is because basically every country has refused to help the US in anyway with Gitmo because it is an illegal institute that goes against every human right and is governed by kangaroo courts.So if you want to word it like that, yes you are the bad guys if you find this prison acceptable. A nice bit of basic irony is that you are "promoting democracy" around the world. Or whatever other soundbite they need so the public can sheep along to it.Anyway....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7781019.stmA senior US official has described as a "significant step" Portugal's offer of asylum for some inmates from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. John Bellinger, legal adviser to the US secretary of state, told the BBC the move was the first break in a European refusal to help shut down the camp. In a letter to EU members this week, Portugal urged them to follow its lead. The US has cleared 50 to 60 detainees for release, but it cannot repatriate them due to the risk of mistreatment. President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to close down the detention centre soon after he takes office in January, but he is yet to set out what will happen to the 250 men currently being held there. 'Hard cases' In his letter on Thursday, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said the European Union "should send a clear signal of our willingness to help the US government resolve this problem, namely by taking in the detainees". This is the first breaking of the ice in European resistance in trying to help out with Guantanamo John Bellinger, Legal Adviser to the US Secretary of State "The time has come for the European Union to step forward," he wrote. Albania is the only country to have so far accepted Guantanamo detainees, taking in five members of China's Uighur ethnic minority on humanitarian grounds in 2006. Mr Bellinger said the Portuguese government's public offer was, therefore, "really quite a significant initiative that we welcome very much". The state department's legal adviser said that there were 50 to 60 so-called "hard cases" at Guantanamo, including several Uighurs, who the US has been unable to repatriate because of human rights concerns in the home countries. CHINA'S UIGHURS Ethnically Turkic Muslims, mainly in Xinjiang provinceMade bid for independent state in 1940sSporadic violence in Xinjiang since 1991Uighurs worried about Chinese immigration and erosion of traditional cultureDetained Uighurs' strange odysseyGuantanamo Uighur release blocked "[The Uighurs] were properly detained, they were in training camps… but they wanted to fight the Chinese. So there's no question that we had the proper authority to detain them," he told the BBC in an interview. "Since we determined who they were, and that they were not intent on fighting us, we've been trying to release them. But China is the only country that wants them back," he added. Beijing has frequently cracked down on Uighur dissidents, who it accuses of seeking an independent homeland in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Mr Bellinger said American immigration laws were such that it would be extremely difficult to resettle them in the US, so he welcomed the "first breaking of the ice in European resistance in trying to help out". In October, a federal judge ordered the government to allow a group of 17 Uighurs at Guantanamo to live in the US, but their transfer has been held up by appeals.

[BigLebowski 0]

This is a hilarious post. Noone ever said "send them back"Oh, a guy that works there says there is no torture and the prisoners are animal that throw shit.Ah ok, the huge human rights movement should be informed about this.There is torture, such as waterboarding. Prisoners being tied up so they can't see, hear, or feel anything, Stripped naked, humilated.Sorry if a US soldiers word hasn't changed the whole outlook on what goes on there. There are proven cases of innoncent people being locked up there and subjected to torture for over 7 years there.The reason "none will take them" is because basically every country has refused to help the US in anyway with Gitmo because it is an illegal institute that goes against every human right and is governed by kangaroo courts.So if you want to word it like that, yes you are the bad guys if you find this prison acceptable. A nice bit of basic irony is that you are "promoting democracy" around the world. Or whatever other soundbite they need so the public can sheep along to it.

QFMFTIf I was locked up in a Russian prison for saying Putin is the devil and Medvedev is his puppet you can bet your ass I would be doing the exact same things these prisoners are doing. Unfortunately in your mind I would be the bad guy I guess. For the record, I am in no way questioning the integrity of your buddy.

[Balloon guy 158]

QFMFTIf I was locked up in a Russian prison for saying Putin is the devil and Medvedev is his puppet you can bet your ass I would be doing the exact same things these prisoners are doing. Unfortunately in your mind I would be the bad guy I guess. For the record, I am in no way questioning the integrity of your buddy.

Yea if you were locked up in a russian prison you would 'show them'I propose that Obama create an adopt a Gitmo program paid for with tax dollars.Any and all bleeding heart liberals who want to save a poor muslim who's only crime was shooting at Americans or building bombs should be able to step up and let them stay with them. You can step up and save them from being kept awake really late, or being *gasp* humiliated. Only requirements are to just agree to prevent them from grabbing any journalist or aid workers and putting their decapitations on the interweb, and buy them a nice prayer rug.We can actually use money left over in the education bill since this should help to open some eyes.

[BigLebowski 0]

Yea if you were locked up in a russian prison you would 'show them'I propose that Obama create an adopt a Gitmo program paid for with tax dollars.Any and all bleeding heart liberals who want to save a poor muslim who's only crime was shooting at Americans or building bombs should be able to step up and let them stay with them. You can step up and save them from being kept awake really late, or being *gasp* humiliated. Only requirements are to just agree to prevent them from grabbing any journalist or aid workers and putting their decapitations on the interweb, and buy them a nice prayer rug.We can actually use money left over in the education bill since this should help to open some eyes.

And you know this because your government said it was so. I so wish I could bring myself to believe this.

[Balloon guy 158]

And you know this because your government said it was so. I so wish I could bring myself to believe this.

Big Brother loves you

[Randy Reed 0]

And you know this because your government said it was so. I so wish I could bring myself to believe this.

Yeah and muslims strapping bombs to there backs and blowing innocent people up was a fabrication much like thetwin towers and concentration camps I suppose. Al Quada actually loves us and just wants to get along.kum bay yah

[Randy Reed 0]

This is a hilarious post. Noone ever said "send them back"Oh, a guy that works there says there is no torture and the prisoners are animal that throw shit.Ah ok, the huge human rights movement should be informed about this.There is torture, such as waterboarding. Prisoners being tied up so they can't see, hear, or feel anything, Stripped naked, humilated.Sorry if a US soldiers word hasn't changed the whole outlook on what goes on there. There are proven cases of innoncent people being locked up there and subjected to torture for over 7 years there.The reason "none will take them" is because basically every country has refused to help the US in anyway with Gitmo because it is an illegal institute that goes against every human right and is governed by kangaroo courts.So if you want to word it like that, yes you are the bad guys if you find this prison acceptable. A nice bit of basic irony is that you are "promoting democracy" around the world. Or whatever other soundbite they need so the public can sheep along to it.Anyway....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7781019.stmA senior US official has described as a "significant step" Portugal's offer of asylum for some inmates from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. John Bellinger, legal adviser to the US secretary of state, told the BBC the move was the first break in a European refusal to help shut down the camp. In a letter to EU members this week, Portugal urged them to follow its lead. The US has cleared 50 to 60 detainees for release, but it cannot repatriate them due to the risk of mistreatment. President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to close down the detention centre soon after he takes office in January, but he is yet to set out what will happen to the 250 men currently being held there. 'Hard cases' In his letter on Thursday, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said the European Union "should send a clear signal of our willingness to help the US government resolve this problem, namely by taking in the detainees". This is the first breaking of the ice in European resistance in trying to help out with Guantanamo John Bellinger, Legal Adviser to the US Secretary of State "The time has come for the European Union to step forward," he wrote. Albania is the only country to have so far accepted Guantanamo detainees, taking in five members of China's Uighur ethnic minority on humanitarian grounds in 2006. Mr Bellinger said the Portuguese government's public offer was, therefore, "really quite a significant initiative that we welcome very much". The state department's legal adviser said that there were 50 to 60 so-called "hard cases" at Guantanamo, including several Uighurs, who the US has been unable to repatriate because of human rights concerns in the home countries. CHINA'S UIGHURS Ethnically Turkic Muslims, mainly in Xinjiang provinceMade bid for independent state in 1940sSporadic violence in Xinjiang since 1991Uighurs worried about Chinese immigration and erosion of traditional cultureDetained Uighurs' strange odysseyGuantanamo Uighur release blocked "[The Uighurs] were properly detained, they were in training camps… but they wanted to fight the Chinese. So there's no question that we had the proper authority to detain them," he told the BBC in an interview. "Since we determined who they were, and that they were not intent on fighting us, we've been trying to release them. But China is the only country that wants them back," he added. Beijing has frequently cracked down on Uighur dissidents, who it accuses of seeking an independent homeland in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. Mr Bellinger said American immigration laws were such that it would be extremely difficult to resettle them in the US, so he welcomed the "first breaking of the ice in European resistance in trying to help out". In October, a federal judge ordered the government to allow a group of 17 Uighurs at Guantanamo to live in the US, but their transfer has been held up by appeals.

Hmm, why won't we release them to China? They wouldn't violate their human rights would they?

[Governator 54]

The first trial for the Obama administration to handle will be in January for the Canadian who was taken prisoner in 2002.It's a pretty wild story for those who haven't read about it. US Soldiers were checking out a location from a satellite phone and found 4 men with AK47s around a campfire. There was also children playing in the area. They called in reinforcements, including air support & about 100 soldiers. They destroyed the camp, one American was killed and the only one that was found alive, buried under a roof was 15 yr old Omar Khadr (with 2 bullet holes in his back and shrapnel in his eye). They flew him out, patched him up and sent him to GB.He's been there since 2002, for the death of the American. He's Canadian born but was living in Afganistan. US claims he had weapon training, etc. and has been referred to as child soldier. He's the only North American born held at GB.You can find all the details online with photos and all, but should be interesting how it pans out. Canadians have been asking for his release to Canada, with our Government's support but really hasn't got that far. He had a hearing this week I believe, I haven't read anything about it yet though.

[akoff 0]

The first trial for the Obama administration to handle will be in January for the Canadian who was taken prisoner in 2002.It's a pretty wild story for those who haven't read about it. US Soldiers were checking out a location from a satellite phone and found 4 men with AK47s around a campfire. There was also children playing in the area. They called in reinforcements, including air support & about 100 soldiers. They destroyed the camp, one American was killed and the only one that was found alive, buried under a roof was 15 yr old Omar Khadr (with 2 bullet holes in his back and shrapnel in his eye). They flew him out, patched him up and sent him to GB.He's been there since 2002, for the death of the American. He's Canadian born but was living in Afganistan. US claims he had weapon training, etc. and has been referred to as child soldier. He's the only North American born held at GB.You can find all the details online with photos and all, but should be interesting how it pans out. Canadians have been asking for his release to Canada, with our Government's support but really hasn't got that far. He had a hearing this week I believe, I haven't read anything about it yet though.

I don't want to lock up a 15 year old...but he was in a fire fight, he shot at and threw grenades at US troops, his father is an Al Qaeda financier and has been raised in Syria. He doesn't sound like your typical Canadian tourist.Again i don't want to defend locking an inocent child but on the surface it doesn't seem that is the case here. I would guess your government agrees (in private) but is trying walk the line of not looking like a lap dog.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

I don't want to lock up a 15 year old...but he was in a fire fight, he shot at and threw grenades at US troops, his father is an Al Qaeda financier and has been raised in Syria. He doesn't sound like your typical Canadian tourist.Again i don't want to defend locking an inocent child but on the surface it doesn't seem that is the case here. I would guess your government agrees (in private) but is trying walk the line of not looking like a lap dog.

There's no question that the kid's family is hardcore Al Qaeda.The funny thing is that he's accused of fighting against American troops but the evidence of that is iffy at best and to my mind even if he did take part in a fight against the US troops that really isn't a crime, that's War.Lock him up for being Al Qaeda and forget the bullshit about fighting against American troops in a war zone in Afghanistan which is not a crime.The Canadian Government has not requested that he be returned to Canada but a lot of the usual left wing bleeding hearts here have.

[akoff 0]

There's no question that the kid's family is hardcore Al Qaeda.The funny thing is that he's accused of fighting against American troops but the evidence of that is iffy at best and to my mind even if he did take part in a fight against the US troops that really isn't a crime, that's War.Lock him up for being Al Qaeda and forget the bullshit about fighting against American troops in a war zone in Afghanistan which is not a crime.The Canadian Government has not requested that he be returned to Canada but a lot of the usual left wing bleeding hearts here have.

Ok, i am not hard to get along with...honest!! you could look at it this way, at least we have GB or he would have been finished off in the field...damn you could argue GB is a safe haven. just a thought.

[vbnautilus 48]

Lock him up for being Al Qaeda and forget the bullshit about fighting against American troops in a war zone in Afghanistan which is not a crime.

Is "being Al Qaeda" a crime? What exactly does that mean? I mean they don't carry membership cards...

[Balloon guy 158]

Is "being Al Qaeda" a crime? What exactly does that mean? I mean they don't carry membership cards...

Yes, being a member of Al Qaeda is a crime, punishable by getting your butt kicked by a marine in full combat gear.The guys family is heavily connected to Al Qaeda, he's in a war zone with an AK47, I would think the left would have a much better poster boy for the travesties of Gitmo than this guy.

[Randy Reed 0]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this and i assume it's commen knowledge but everyone is treating Gitmoas if it's a normal jail. These weren't normal citizens being held. They are war criminals who don't have any rights underour constitution. They are being treated under the rules of the Geneva convention as far as care, etc.They conversly didn't act under the rules of the Geneva convention when waging war on us either. They can have a trialconducted by a military tribunal or court.

[LincolnK 1]

just ran across this http://www.antiwar.com/worthington/?articleid=14343

I've just published the first definitive list of the 779 prisoners held in the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,......a prison in which the overwhelming majority of those held – at least 93 percent of the 779 men and boys imprisoned in total – were either completely innocent people, seized as a result of dubious intelligence or sold for bounty payments, or Taliban foot soldiers, recruited to fight an inter-Muslim civil war that began long before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, or international terrorism.

The bolded is most interesting to me. I don't see a quick breakdown of these categories, but I have the impression the numbers are high. I don't know how the Taliban soldiers fit into the grand scheme. Could someone explain why they are identified in the 93%?

[CaneBrain 95]

just ran across this http://www.antiwar.com/worthington/?articleid=14343The bolded is most interesting to me. I don't see a quick breakdown of these categories, but I have the impression the numbers are high. I don't know how the Taliban soldiers fit into the grand scheme. Could someone explain why they are identified in the 93%?

who knows. I dont like Guantanamo much but 93% is laughable. It's more like 93% belong BUT our mistake is that we refuse to admit that we were wrong about the other 7%. So we deny them access to evidence and obstruct, obstruct, obstruct.I could have gotten behind Bush's policies on this kinda stuff if they had just admitted when they were wrong (and the evidence is clear that some people who spent significant time in Guantanamo were completely innocent) and cut the guy a check. Sadly, the Bush admin did not believe in accountability or admitting fault.

[Balloon guy 158]

Of course they are so innocent that Obama freed them all immediately.Oh wait...he didn'tHe's having his best and brightest go over each of the 270+ cases to release them quickly.Oh wait...he gave them a yearThat's right, he's moving them to another prison identical in all ways EXCEPT it's not called GitmoChange and hope

[LincolnK 1]

Of course they are so innocent that Obama freed them all immediately.Oh wait...he didn'tHe's having his best and brightest go over each of the 700+ cases to release them quickly.Oh wait...he gave them a yearThat's right, he's moving them to another prison identical in all ways EXCEPT it's not called GitmoChange and hope

The list provides details of the 533 prisoners who have been released, and includes, for the first time ever, accurate dates for their release. It also provides details of the 241 prisoners who are still held, including the 59 prisoners who have been cleared for release.

I would read "released" as out of the system. Is that wrong?

[Balloon guy 158]

I would read "released" as out of the system. Is that wrong?

Who released those prisoners?

[Balloon guy 158]

Hint: His middle name isn't a muslim name

[CaneBrain 95]

Who released those prisoners?

so, George Bush locked up 533 guys who had so little evidence against them that a while later George Bush let them go.Am I supposed to be impressed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIKARidne7g

[Balloon guy 158]

so, George Bush locked up 533 guys who had so little evidence against them that a while later George Bush let them go.Am I supposed to be impressed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIKARidne7g

He's released more people than Obama has