Liberals and deviant DemocRATS claim they support Our Troops. But
they do not. They scream to their media cronies about abuse of terrorists and ignore all
other aspects of the detainees incarceration. Their proven goal is to defame
President Bush at ever turn...they ignorantly fail to realize that their President is the
Commander and Chief of the Armed Forces. Liberals and deviant DemocRATS are abusing the
rights and freedoms...so hard fought for by our courageous men and women. Sedition and
Treason are two words that they should look up in the dictionary. (WFT Editorial)
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Eyewitness Report from Gitmo-
Abuse is rampant at Jail in Gitmo - (Guantanimo Cuba) on American servicemen and women by the terrorist thugs.
I was privileged to be part of a Department of Defense trip to the Joint Task Force -
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I got to see the operations of this “controversial”
facility up-close...something particularly important after Sen. Richard Durbin’s
comparison of its guard to Nazi stormtroopers and calls of leftists to shut the center
down. Our group went to GITMO to check out tales that the military was being too tough on
these terrorist detainees. We left convinced that America is being extraordinarily lenient
...
far too lenient.
After speaking with soldiers, sailors, and civilians who collectively staff Gitmo, I left
convinced that abuse definitely exists at the detention facilities, and it typically fails
to receive the press attention it deserves: it’s the relentless, merciless attacks on
American servicemen and women by these terrorist thugs. Many of the orange
jumpsuit-clad detainees fight their captors at every opportunity, openly bragging of their
desire to kill Americans. One has promised that, if released, he would find MPs in their
homes through the internet, break into their houses at night, and “cut the throats of
them and their families like sheep.” Others claim authority and vindication
to kill women, children, and other innocents who oppose their jihadist mission authorized
by the Koran (the same one that hangs in every cell from a specially-designed holder
intended to protect it from a touching the cell floor – all provided at U.S. taxpayer
expense). One detainee was heard to tell another: “One day I will enjoy sucking
American blood, although their blood is bitter, undrinkable….” These
recalcitrant detainees are known euphemistically as being “non-compliant.” They
attack guards whenever the soldiers enter their cells, trying to reach up under protective
facemasks to gouge eyes and tear mouths. They make weapons and try to stab the guards or
grab and break limbs as the guards pass them food.
We dined with the soldiers, toured several of the individual holding camps, observed
interrogations, and inspected cells. We were impressed by the universally high quality of
the cadre and the facilities. While it may not be exactly “Club GITMO,” as Rush
Limbaugh uses to tweak the hard-Left critics who haven’t a clue about reality here,
GITMO is a far cry from the harshness experienced even by maximum security prisoners in
the U.S.
Meals for detainees are ample: we lunched on what several thought was an accumulated
single day’s ration for detainees. “No,” the contract food service manager
said with a laugh, “what you’re looking at there is today’s lunch. A single
meal. They get three a day like that.” The vegetables, pita bread, and other
well-prepared food filled two of the large Styrofoam take-home containers we see in
restaurants. Several prisoners have special meal orders like “no
tomatoes” or “no peanut products” depending on taste or allergies.
“One prisoner,” General Hood said, “throws back his food tray if it
contains things he has specifically said he doesn’t want.” How is he punished
for this outrageous behavior? His tray is numbered, the food he requested is put on it,
and the corrected “order” is delivered to his cell.
The detainees are similarly catered to medically. Almost every one arrived at GITMO with
some sort of battlefield trauma. After all, the majority were captured in combat. Today
they are healthy, immunized, and well cared for. At a visit to the modern hospital
facility – dedicated solely to the detainees and comparable to a well-equipped and
staffed small-town hospital with operating, dental, routine facilities – the doctor
in charge confirmed that the caloric count for the detainees was so high that while
“most detainees arrived undernourished,” medics now watch for issues stemming
from high cholesterol and being overweight. Each of approximately 520 terrorists
currently held in confinement averages about four medical visits monthly,
something one would expect from only a dedicated American hypochondriac. Welcome to the
rigors of detention under American supervision.
Of the estimated 70,000 battlefield captures that were made in
Afghanistan, only a tiny percentage, something on the order of 800-plus, were eventually
evacuated to GITMO. These were the worst of the worst. More than 200 have been released
back to their home country – if the U.S. is assured that the detainees would not be
tortured by local authorities upon return. These men were freed because they were deemed
by ongoing official military review processes to no longer pose a threat, or to possess no
useful intelligence. And this process has proven too generous at times: more than
10 released GITMO detainees have been killed or recaptured fighting Americans or have been
identified as resuming terrorist activities. Still, the process is up and running
for review of cases, and if a Washington DC circuit court approves a government appeal,
the system for military tribunals will get started. All mechanisms are in place and ready
to go as soon as DoD gets a green light.
There is a good reason these unlawful combatants are being confined. They are evil and
dangerous individuals. Yet these thugs are treated with an amazing degree of compassion:
They are given ice cream treats and recreational time. They live in clean facilities, and
receive a full Muslim religious package of Koran, prayer rug, beads, and prayer oils. An
arrow in every cell points to Mecca. The call to prayer is played five times
daily. They are not abused, hanged, tortured, beheaded, raped, mutilated, or in
any way treated the way that they once treated their own captives – or now treat
their guards.
Some questioned whether it were wise to give these radical Islamic fundamentalists the
religious supplies that ended up landing them in Gitmo in the first place. “Giving
them the Koran is simply something that we think we ought to do as a humane gesture,”
said second-in-command Brigadier General Gong. “We’re Americans. That’s how
we operate.”
When we challenged military authorities about the seemingly plush environs these would-be
murderers receive, the commanding officers stated this was the most productive course.
JTF-GITMO commanding officer Brigadier General Jay Hood radiated confidence and
determination when fielding challenges from our group about his overly lenient treatment.
“It works,” he says simply. “We do not allow torture or mistreatment,
period.” How to they guarantee this? By rigorous, on-going training and constant
oversight up and down the supervisory chain. As proof that “establishing
rapport” with the detainees is far more effective than coercive techniques, General
Hood refers skeptics to the massive amount of usable intelligence information JTF-GITMO
continues to produce even three years into the program.
You are right to worry about inhumane treatment taking place at GITMO. But your concern
should be for the dedicated, well-trained, highly professional American men and women who
are subjected to a daily barrage of feces, urine, semen, and spit hurled at them along
with vile invective as they implement a humane, enlightened system of confinement on men
who want nothing more than to kill Americans. These quiet professional Americans, who live
under the motto “Honor Bound for Defense of Freedom,” deserve our utmost respect
and concern. Shame on anyone who slanders or disrespects them for short-term and
short-sighted political advantage.
What I Saw at Gitmo By Lt. Col. Gordon
Cucullu
FrontPageMagazine.com June 27, 2005 |
