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There is indeed abuse going on at Guantanamo--but it's abuse by savage inmates against our troops. Date published: 10/23/2005
UANTANAMO BAY, CUBA--In the fall of 2001, the U.S. Naval Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba ("Gitmo" to those who live here) was teetering on the edge of oblivion, with a skeleton crew of fewer than 2,000 service members on duty. Now a contingent of more than 10,000 resides here. Behind that surge: the need for secure confinement of a collection of human debris snatched from the battlefields of Afghanistan in early 2002. These "detainees" are not innocent foot soldiers, or confused Afghan opium farmers drafted by the Taliban. They are Islamic fundamentalists from across the Middle East, rabid jihadists who have dedicated their lives to the destruction of America and Western civilization. Among the residents are al-Qaida organizers, bomb makers, financial specialists, recruiters of suicide attackers, and just plain killers. Many of these men met frequently with Osama bin Laden. The terrorist Maad Al Qahtani--a Saudi who is a self-confessed collaborator with the Sept. 11 hijackers--is one of many infamous captives. In the opening salvos of the global war on terror, our forces took a lot of prisoners from the battlefield. Estimates are that more than 70,000 Taliban and al-Qaida fighters were captured and screened. Of that number, approximately 800 were deemed of such high value for intelligence purposes, or such a severe threat in their own person, that they needed to be interrogated and confined in a secure locale from which they could not easily escape or be rescued. Welcome to the new Gitmo. I was able to observe conditions at the detention facility, firsthand, at the end of June, when I was invited to join a group of 10 former military and intelligence analysts on an inspection tour. Briefings commenced aboard our aircraft shortly after takeoff, and continued until landing. We were met planeside by Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, the commanding officer of Joint Task Force Gitmo, whose soldiers are responsible for the security, interrogation, housing, and oversight of all the terrorists confined there. Gen. Hood and his staff fielded all questions and criticisms, and were very forthcoming. Who are these men? While we observed absolutely no evidence of torture of prisoners at Gitmo, it is clear that the daily atmosphere is rife with harsh abuse: The prisoners are constantly assaulting the guards.
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