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International-UN-NGOs
Red Thingy Cross Fears U.S. Is Hiding Detainees
2004-07-13
The international Red Thingy Cross said Tuesday that it fears U.S. officials are holding terror suspects secretly in locations across the world.
Who, us?
The Geneva Conventions on the conduct of warfare require the United States to give the Red Thingy Cross access to prisoners of war and other detainees. "We have access to people detained by the United States in Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan and Iraq, but in our understanding there are people that are detained outside these places for which we haven't received notification or access," said Antonella Notari, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Thingy Cross. The United States says it is cooperating with the organization and has allowed Red Thingy Cross delegates access to thousands of prisoners, including former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. But Notari told The Associated Press that some suspects reported as arrested by the FBI on its Web site, or identified in media reports, are unaccounted for. "Some of these people who have been reported to be arrested never showed up in any of the places of detention run by the U.S. where we visit," Notari said.
Bwahahaha!!!
She said she had read media reports that some people are being held at Diego Garcia, a British-held island in the Indian Ocean used as a strategic military base by the United States, but the ICRTC has not been notified of any prisoners there.
Diego Garcia? Nothing about any prison on the website. Guess there's nothing to this "high-security, black-hole grade prison/interrogation facility" story. Move along.
"We just simply have absolutely no confirmation of this in any formal way," she said. The U.S. government has not officially responded to a Red Thingy Cross demand for notification of all detainees, including those held in undisclosed locations, she said.
That's the beauty of undisclosed locations.
Posted by:Steve

#17  #11 "Tell 'em we'll only talk to Magen David Adom."
I like that idea. At least they wouldn't be carrying suicide bombers. And the 'other detainees' would assume they were carrying Mossad agents and panic... I like it!
Posted by: Kathy K   2004-07-13 7:06:22 PM  

#16  Bwaahaaaahaaaa! File your complaint with your sister org, the 'slim terrorist supporting red crescent.
Posted by: Victory Now Please   2004-07-13 3:35:12 PM  

#15  The best place to hide them would be under approximately six feet of soil. Underwater works just as well, too.
Posted by: Dar   2004-07-13 3:34:09 PM  

#14  Verlaine,

You are spot on. So, what exactly is a POW? Let's look behind Door #1:

Geneva Conventions of 1949
Article 4. A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:
(1) Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict, as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

(2) Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:[
(a) that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
(b) that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
(c) that of carrying arms openly;
(d) that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.

Looks like they're out of luck.
Posted by: dreadnought   2004-07-13 3:33:46 PM  

#13  FUCK the red cross, FUCK the red crescent, FUCK the u.n., FUCK phrancistan,(formerly known as france), Fuck canadianistan,..... FUCK 'EM ALL

The red cross only represents the bad guys anyway. They can go straight to HELL! What has the red cross EVER done for the U.S.A.? NOTHING!!
Posted by: Halfass Pete   2004-07-13 2:21:25 PM  

#12  "The Geneva Conventions on the conduct of warfare require the United States to give the Red Cross access to prisoners of war and other detainees ."

Incorrect, I believe. POWs, yes, of course. "Other detainees"? I could have this wrong, but since the "other detainees" in question are clearly not POWs under the Conventions, and are also not interned neutrals or civilians or otherwise protected persons, I don't think ICRC has any standing to see them. As a matter of policy, the US generally grants ICRC access to the detainees, for example in Gitmo.

Anyone here know the specifics and whether I've got this right? Pretty sure the article is wrong -- in a way typical of media coverage of these issues since 9/11.

I don't need any confirmation that the ICRC has seriously departed from its core operational principles of neutrality and confidentiality. A part of this posted article noted that some had criticized the ICRC for not "speaking out" on problems it found with US detention activities it was allowed to inspect. A beautiful reminder of the widespread ignorance on this matter, and of the ridiculous anti-American bias not just of most media but the ICRC itself. The ICRC managed to leak some of its Iraq reports to pile on during the height of the Abu Ghraib hysteria -- a very, very big deal, one made even more contemptible by the ICRC holding a press conference to discuss the leak. Then there's the comical performance of the ICRC's B'dad rep, who denounced the US attack on the western Iraqi village ("the wedding party") instantly, before possibly having any serious info on what actually happened. And on, and on.
Posted by: Verlaine   2004-07-13 2:19:15 PM  

#11  Tell 'em we'll only talk to Magen David Adom.
Posted by: someone   2004-07-13 1:50:10 PM  

#10  Let's disband the Red Cross. It is not like they do anything useful anyway.
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American   2004-07-13 1:13:57 PM  

#9  "Nothin' up m'sleeve..."
-- Bullwinkle J. Moose
Posted by: mojo   2004-07-13 1:03:19 PM  

#8  I'm just check under futon... nope.
Posted by: Half   2004-07-13 12:25:19 PM  

#7  They visited Mike Durant only to censor out his declaration that "Night Stalkers Don't Quit" to maintain their precious "neutrality" ...
Posted by: Anonymous5735   2004-07-13 12:23:36 PM  

#6  Tell your Red Crescent buddies in Fallujah that we do not take kindly to Ambulances hauling armaments to terrorists. So, FOAD......
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2004-07-13 11:52:01 AM  

#5  Quick question... when was the last time, if ever, that a US POW was ever checked up on by the red cross etc? Just curious.
Posted by: Damn_Proud_American   2004-07-13 11:51:31 AM  

#4  Tell ya what ICRC. Talk to a Mr. Zarqawi about access to his "detainees", get that squared away, and we'll talk.
Better hurry up though, as he's not a very patient man and it's tough talking to "detainees" when they don't have fucking heads.
Posted by: tu3031   2004-07-13 11:48:10 AM  

#3  Wait-there's part of one here, and here's the other part of him, oh and I think there are several unmatched parts over there...
Posted by: jules 187   2004-07-13 11:47:35 AM  

#2  The Red Plus Sign ought to be more concerned with the security of its ambulences.
Posted by: eLarson   2004-07-13 11:44:59 AM  

#1  As long as the ICRC is acting whore handmaiden to terrorism, why should we let them in?
Posted by: therien   2004-07-13 11:42:41 AM  

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