Hunger strikers protesting indefinite detention at Gitmo

[Silhouette]

I am sure most of you are aware that there are prisoners held in Guantanamo that have been cleared for release yet have been stuck in a legal quagmire for many years. These prisoners have suffered torture and other abuse during their detention and they are being denied their due process. In protest of their continued suffering and indefinite detention, many of these prisoners have gone on a hunger strike as a way to draw attention to the inherent unfairness of their situation and to compel those who are responsible for prolonging this suffering to do something about it. Here is the testimony of one of these prisoners that was published yesterday in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/opinion/hunger-striking-at-guantanamo-bay.html?_r=0

This brings to mind President Obama's promise to close Gitmo and release any prisoners who are innocent of any wrong doing or try them in a court of law. It has been over 4 years since he made that promise and yet there is no evidence that Gitmo is closing any time soon and there are prisoners that were captured as children who are still waiting for their due process. Congress voted against funding the closure of Guantanamo and has prevented the release of any prisoners into the United States. The NDAA still has language in it that supports the continued indefinite detainment of prisoners of Gitmo and nothing will change unless the public demands it.

My fear is that those responsible for creating this cruel and degrading practice will not be held accountable for it and that if we (the public) don't demand accountability, any future administration will feel empowered to indefinitely detain prisoners, abuse them, and deny them their rights. If we don't demand change, then who will? Our children, our grandchildren? What kind of legacy are we leaving behind in our hesitation to set free people who have been waterboarded, or are victims of other enhanced interrogation techniquestorture because we fear retribution from them? Will we stand by and watch them starve themselves to death in protest and do nothing?

What are your thoughts?

 

[theprestige]

Here is the testimony of one of these prisoners that was published yesterday in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/opinion/hunger-striking-at-guantanamo-bay.html?_r=0

[...]

What are your thoughts?

"I wonder if we can close whatever security gap allows POWs at Gitmo to get their ideas published in the New York Times."

 

[Silhouette]

"I wonder if we can close whatever security gap allows POWs at Gitmo to get their ideas published in the New York Times."

Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay since 2002, told this story, through an Arabic interpreter, to his lawyers at the legal charity Reprieve in an unclassified telephone call.

 

[Cinnamon Life]

Just another broken promise by Obama that most Americans don't seem to care about.

 

[theprestige]

Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay since 2002, told this story, through an Arabic interpreter, to his lawyers at the legal charity Reprieve in an unclassified telephone call.

So, probably we can't close that gap--or at least shouldn't, anyway. Oh, well. It's probably for the best.

 

[theprestige]

Just another broken promise by Obama that most Americans don't seem to care about.

Don't look at me. I cared enough about it to vote for the other guy.

 

[Fishstick]

Don't look at me. I cared enough about it to vote for the other guy.

Yeah, he'd have been all over closing Gitmo

 

[mikedenk]

My idea for the terrorist scum poor dears:

1) Put them under and implant them with a high-tech tracking device.
2) Release them to their home country.
3) Wait a week or so.
4) Drop a JDAM on their location.

 

[Silhouette]

My idea for the terrorist scum poor dears:

1) Put them under and implant them with a high-tech tracking device.
2) Release them to their home country.
3) Wait a week or so.
4) Drop a JDAM on their location.

These POWs who have been cleared for release but are being held indefinitely have not been found guilty of any wrong doing, which is why they are cleared for release. What you are suggesting is to take an innocent person and treat them inhumanely, for what reason exactly?

There is a profound difference between being found guilty of terrorism by a court of law because there is evidence to support it and having been falsely alleged to have links to terrorism despite a lack of any substantiating evidence to support the claim.

 

[shemp]

These POWs who have been cleared for release but are being held indefinitely have not been found guilty of any wrong doing, which is why they are cleared for release. What you are suggesting is to take an innocent person and treat them inhumanely, for what reason exactly?

Because he's a troll. Because he gets his kicks from it. Because he can.

Future generations will look back on this as a greater shame than the WWII incarceration of Japanese-Americans. But that'll be too late to help anyone.

 

[mikedenk]

Cleared for release does not = innocent.

Approximately 600 detainees have been released from Gitmo. How many of these "innocents" have returned to the battlefield? Estimates vary. In 2012, the Director of National Intelligence claimed that more than 1 in 4 released prisoners had been confirmed or suspected of returning to the fight. That number will only rise as more of these "victims" decide it's time to get their jihad going again.

It's no surprise that Obama is in no hurry to shut down the camp - he knows it contains a significant number of dangerous terrorists who are currently being kept away from actual innocent victims.

 

[Watanabe]

Just another broken promise by Obama that most Americans don't seem to care about.

Like Israeli dont care about Palestinians tortured.
Like Russians dont care about civilians in Grozny bombed.
Like Chinese dont care about their fellow citizens in the laogai.
The pattern is similar all around the world

 

[mikedenk]

(personal comments snipped)...Future generations will look back on this as a greater shame than the WWII incarceration of Japanese-Americans. But that'll be too late to help anyone.

Lol, no.

If you're going to go completely over-the-top, might as well just say it will be regarded as a greater shame than slavery.

Say, how many of those incarcerated Japanese-Americans turned out to actually be spies or traitors? Because the Gitmo "innocent victims cleared for release" crowd is running at about a 30% Actual Terrorist Rate. And many have only been out for a few years, so we can count on that number steadily climbing.

 

[Natan]

Cleared for release does not = innocent.

Approximately 600 detainees have been released from Gitmo. How many of these "innocents" have returned to the battlefield? Estimates vary. In 2012, the Director of National Intelligence claimed that more than 1 in 4 released prisoners had been confirmed or suspected of returning to the fight. That number will only rise as more of these "victims" decide it's time to get their jihad going again.

You do realize that only one in four is WAY better than the recidivism rate of ordinary American ex prisoners?

Bureau of Justice Statistics:
In a 15 State study, over two-thirds of released prisoners were rearrested within three years
http://bjs.gov/content/reentry/recidivism.cfm​

That means Gitmo is chock full of innocents and/or that having been locked up there actually works as a deterrent.

 

[Watanabe]

[..]
Say, how many of those incarcerated Japanese-Americans turned out to actually be spies or traitors? Because the Gitmo "innocent victims cleared for release" crowd is running at about a 30% Actual Terrorist Rate. And many have only been out for a few years, so we can count on that number steadily climbing.

If I may..
I do not precisely like the Talibans, but between the usual US Marine and the Taliban fighting for their own country, my sympathy goes to the latter.
Maybe, 50 years from now, Talibans incarcerated at Gitmo will be seen as good people/decent fighters precisely because they were working for the other side and targeting US Marines and Afghani corrupted police officers on their land.

 

[Aepervius]

Lol, no.

If you're going to go completely over-the-top, might as well just say it will be regarded as a greater shame than slavery.

Say, how many of those incarcerated Japanese-Americans turned out to actually be spies or traitors? Because the Gitmo "innocent victims cleared for release" crowd is running at about a 30% Actual Terrorist Rate. And many have only been out for a few years, so we can count on that number steadily climbing.

So you are perfectly fine *********** the life of 70% to get those 30% ? Trampling your constitution, pissing on the geneva convention, enabling torturing and having the same moral standard as a south-american dictature and you are fine ?

Sir, I hope for you that you never get caught in the 70% to catch the 30%.

 

[mikedenk]

So you are perfectly fine *********** the life of 70% to get those 30% ? Trampling your constitution, pissing on the geneva convention, enabling torturing and having the same moral standard as a south-american dictature and you are fine ?

Sir, I hope for you that you never get caught in the 70% to catch the 30%.

86 Detainees cleared for release. From past experience, we can assume that 20-25 of them will go right back to terrorism upon release. We can only speculate on how many more will choose that path over time.

But hey, it won't be our friends and family caught in their path, amiright? Probably just some poor 3rd-world nobodies. I'm sure they're more than happy to sacrifice themselves in order to assuage liberal guilt.

 

[Cleon]

86 Detainees cleared for release. From past experience, we can assume that 20-25 of them will go right back to terrorism upon release. We can only speculate on how many more will choose that path over time.

Yes, assumptions and speculation are a fantastic reason to keep people locked up indefinitely, with no trial.

"Small government" conservatism at its best.

 

[mikedenk]

If I may..
I do not precisely like the Talibans, but between the usual US Marine and the Taliban fighting for their own country, my sympathy goes to the latter.Maybe, 50 years from now, Talibans incarcerated at Gitmo will be seen as good people/decent fighters precisely because they were working for the other side and targeting US Marines and Afghani corrupted police officers on their land.

I give you credit for your honesty.

 

[joesixpack]

My idea for the terrorist scum poor dears:

1) Put them under and implant them with a high-tech tracking device.
2) Release them to their home country.
3) Wait a week or so.
4) Drop a JDAM on their location.

I'm curious what you actually know about the US Constitution, what it written for, why it is worth defending, and what rights it was designed to guarantee. It seems that your concept of "justice" is based on some sort of sorry ***** nationalist self identification more than it is on any of the ethical principles that underpin the ideals of the very nation to which you claim loyalty.