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| US 'neglects mental health of Guantanamo inmates' | ||
| 2006-06-14 | ||
| I may need the real big violin... Campaigners have accused the Bush administration of deliberately ignoring mounting evidence of psychological and mental health problems among prisoners at Guantanamo Bay despite more than 40 previous suicide attempts. Yeah, it oughta be like Boys Town down there... Lawyers who represent some of the 460 men at the prison said no one should be surprised by the suicides of three inmates at the weekend - one of whom was 17 years old when he was incarcerated and another who was earmarked for transfer. So one was young and one was stupid? Bill Goodman, legal director of the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), said:"The Bush administration has systematically and deliberately denied these men their most basic rights through a policy of choking off all contact, communication, information and hope.[It has] consistently fought to keep these men from lawyers, doctors and others who were willing to help them." My, my. I can't see through my tears... His comments came after a senior US official dismissed the deaths as nothing more than a "good PR stunt". The Bush administration sought to retreat from that position yesterday with Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defence for detainee affairs, telling the BBC: "We are always concerned when someone takes his own life. Because, as Americans, we value life, even the lives of violent terrorists who are captured waging war against our country." Be advised, Cully doesn't speak for me. The CCR provided a precise timetable detailing the efforts of campaigners to raise the issue of suicide risk among inmates as well as the government's tacit acknowledgement of the problem, stretching back to 2002.There have reportedly been 41 suicide attempts made by a total of 25 prisoners. One man, Jumah al-Dossari, has tried to take his life 12 times. See, Jumah. Your buddies proved that dreams can come true. So you keep trying... In 2003, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the only independent organisation granted access to the prisoners, warned of the severe mental health issues facing many and said the nature of their incarceration and interrogation - including humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, use of forced positions - was "a form of torture".
He's asleep now... The Pentagon described the men as having links to al-Qa'ida, the Taliban and an Islamist organisation that it claims is a terrorist group, but none of the three had been charged. Indeed, the authorities confirmed Mr Otaibi had been slated for transfer to a third country but a lawyer said the prisoner had not been informed. Ooooops... The Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy co-signed a European Parliament resolution calling on the US to set a timetable for closure of the prison. Ms McCarthy, who visited the prison last month, said: "There is a complete failure by the US administration to see why this is not the right way to deal with suspected terrorists." I think a lot of us here know how we should deal with them, but I've got a feeling Arlene wouldn't be too crazy about our suggestions either. | ||
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #20 I want to help. I'm willing to take some vacation, go to Guantanamo, and make fun of their wee wees and toothpaste felching habits. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-06-14 23:32 |
| #19 Give 'em all some of what Joe's got. That'll cure 'em! |
| Posted by: BA 2006-06-14 23:14 |
| #18 GLAZE CHICKEN + CHRISTINA = USAF F15 or F22 or F35 > too much tech to handle, D *** it, ergo gotta crash like any good Indian Air Force pilot. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-06-14 22:15 |
| #17 Guantanamo - a waste of perfectly good shark bait. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-14 21:07 |
| #16 One man, Jumah al-Dossari, has tried to take his life 12 times. Sort of like the Kamikaze pilot who flew 37 missions. |
| Posted by: Matt 2006-06-14 20:25 |
| #15 too complicated Zazz. Kill them. They legally deserve it |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-14 20:17 |
| #14 "One man, Jumah al-Dossari, has tried to take his life 12 times." Good grief -- give him rope and an illustrated manual on knots! |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-06-14 19:57 |
| #13 I would release them. But they would have to hear first a document that would state that they have been injected with an implant that would monitor certain chemicals in their bodies, that is is known that when killing someone (or just before that act), certain chemicals are released and these would be detected and the implant would kill them. Just read and out of the gate, no communication with the inmates allowed. I bet that 90% of them would be very conscious of that possibility, some may try but would die just of the fright. (If I were evil, I'd implant a post-hypnotic suggestion resulting in that specific effect). |
| Posted by: zazz 2006-06-14 19:13 |
| #12 Why we shouldn't release them "Another of his sons, Mourad Benchellali, was one of seven French detainees held at the US base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Released in July 2004, Mourad now faces terrorist-related charges in France along with five others." |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2006-06-14 18:48 |
| #11 Those three knew they were being sent home to soddy land, they chose suicide rather than face the justice of their countrymen. Leaving the world no poorer three men died. |
| Posted by: pihkalbadger 2006-06-14 18:25 |
| #10 LH, it's a fair point -- there are indeed some 'cannon fodder' types at Gitmo. They have limited intel value, but there's one overriding problem -- they want to kill 'Merkins. It's all well and good to say, release them and wait for them to get snuffed in Helmund. But if they get very lucky and kill a coalition soldier five seconds before they get sent to paradise, what do you say to the widow/mother of that soldier? I don't claim to have all the answers, and I do agree that ridding ourselves of the low-value detainees would help solve some other problems. But damned if I want to see any of them get lucky against us. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-06-14 18:23 |
| #9 To quote Michelle Malkin: Boo Freakin Hoo! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-06-14 17:35 |
| #8 Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand. |
| Posted by: Homer Simpson 2006-06-14 17:32 |
| #7 Put them all on suicide watch. If any of 'em go to commit suicide, just stand there and watch. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-06-14 17:26 |
| #6 Ya'all think some Thorzine might help them? Esp with that nasty feces throwing thingy? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-14 17:20 |
| #5 Bill Goodman, legal director of the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), said:"The Bush administration has systematically and deliberately denied these men their most basic rights through a policy of choking off all contact, communication, information and hope.[It has] consistently fought to keep these men from lawyers, doctors and others who were willing to help them." Yes Bill, thats kinda the idear. The ones we can't capture, we kill on the spot. "Denial" of life, as it were. You must have been born post-9/11. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-06-14 17:20 |
| #4 That's because after we squeeze 'em dry of intel, we plan on taking them out and shooting their unlawful combatant asses. So, y'know, it's all good. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-06-14 17:17 |
| #3 on closing gitmo the majority of the guys there seem to be taliban/aq footsoldiers-cannon fodder or alleged cannon fodder whom we swept up in 2001/2002. At worst, we let them go, they end up as part of the daily statistics of dead Taliban in Helmand province, or dead in work accidents in Saudi. Maybe taking a few innocent Saudis with them. All in all, probably less harm to us free, than they are to the momentum of the WOT sitting in Gitmo, slowly martyring themselves, making headlines that play against us. At this point freeing em, though an injustice, would be the better part of discretion, I think. OTOH there ARE some high value detainees we can neither release nor try. (mainly held elsewhere than Gitmo, IIUC) So the real question is, would giving up the Gitmo cannon fodder strengthen or weaken the public case for holding the high value detainees? No one has really addressed that, cause the left is unwilling to accecpt the need and right to hold folks indefinitely without trial, and the right is unwilling to contemplate that releasing the cannon fodder en masse is a reasonable strategy. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-06-14 16:23 |
| #2 Take away the Giddeon Korans and their mental health will improve over time. Of course, that's just a waste of time...Muddy Waters said it best. |
| Posted by: Inspector Clueso 2006-06-14 16:17 |
| #1 Can't lose what you never had - Muddy Waters |
| Posted by: Thrurong Jaise7291 2006-06-14 16:08 |