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Prisoners, absolved of charges, still at Guantanamo
Since the opening of the Grantanamo prison, 38 of the 759 prisoners have been deemed "no longer enemy combatants." Right now there are four men at Guantanamo who have been cleared of all charges, but who have no idea when they will be released.
Many of the men who have been cleared of charges were rounded up by profiteers on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border and sold to U.S. or Northern Alliance forces, according to The Washington Post. The going prices were rumored to be $25,000 for each Arab, and $15,000 for each Afghan. Some were Arabs who "stood out," and some were arrested by the Pakistani police.
Posted by Diane E. Dees on 05/22/06 at 1:21 PM | E-mail | Print
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What I don't understand is why Bush and Co. are not the subject of a best-selling adventure thriller...
First we address lawlessness by selling the "Indians" guns (as in arming Iraq with weapons of mass destruction), then we open the door wide for a Trojan Horse--no, wait, it's simply that we leave the door wide open..., which is then used by congress as a good excuse to invade...
And just how cool is it that now we're paying $25,000 per Arab, 15 K per Afghan, so we can lock them up in a cage and put them on display indefinately, without regard as to whether the're guilty or innocent...
I guess the way to understand the gov. mindset here is to think about how when the gov. is the lawbreaker it breeds contempt for the law (ie. pays for more "police agents").
Good show George W. (you really seem to be enjoying yourself!!!!!!!!!!).
Posted by: Michael L. Wagner on 05/23/06 at 11:49 AM
I just read a thought-provoking book on this subject called American Methods. It details the United STates long history of torture and abuse. More info below:
Closing Gitmo is only the start. Find out why in American Methods
Available From South End Press
American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination
by Kristian Williams
The US "should cease to detain any person at Guantánamo Bay and close
this detention facility," proclaimed the United Nations Committee Against
Torture.
The call to close Guantánamo Bay is important, but to view Gitmo as a bad
apple is to ignore the rest of the report, which is deeply critical of the US
relationship with torture.
The committee also:
* said that the US should end interrogation techniques "including
methods involving sexual humiliation, 'water boarding,' 'short shackling'
and using dogs to induce fear"
* questioned the lack of prosecution of those involved in the Chicago
Police Area 2 and 3 torture "scandals"
* challenged the use of prolonged isolation in SuperMax prisons.
The fact that the report called into question practices in military detention
camps, US prisons, and US police stations comes as no surprise to Kristian
Williams, author of *American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination*.
"The UN report, damning as it is, really just hits the largest targets—the
most widespread practices, the most well-documented cases. What I
found in the course of my research is that the sort of abuse the UN
condemns aren't just add-ons. They're characteristic of the operations of
American power, whether at the hands of law enforcement within our
borders or of soldiers overseas."
It is this everday quality of state violence that launches Kristian Williams's
extensively researched and annotated new book *American Methods*. And
Williams's rigerous audit of the US record in underwriting human rights
violations around the globe--at home and abroad--doesn't stop at what,
but explores why. What emerges is the distinct character of American
torture, particularly its emphasis on sexual violence, misogyny, and
racialized spectacle.
"Torture is nothing new for the US. My book looks at the past 25 years,
but it would clearly be possible to trace it further back, all the way to the
Colonial period. One thing that really stands out if you examine the
country's record is the use of sexual violence as a model and method of
maintaining state power. The UN report also highlights the sexual aspect of
torture, but the report's questions are mainly, 'What abuses are occurring?'
and 'Do they violate the Convention Against Torture?,' whereas I was also
asking, 'What does torture say about our society?' and 'What does it show
us about the nature of state power?'"
* * *
Support Independent Media and get American Methods at 25% off the
cover price when you get it online from the South End Press website
through June 30th. (www.southendpress.org/2005/items/87530)
* * *
Kristian Williams's writings have appeared in CounterPunch, Columbia
Journalism Review, and We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global
Anti-Capitalism (2003). A member of Rose City Copwatch in Portland,
Oregon, Williams also authored Our Enemies in Blue (2004).
www.southendpress.org
read. write. revolt.
Posted by: kerry on 06/06/06 at 9:33 AM
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If there was transportation to bring them to jail, there should be transportation to get them back home.
Posted by: Dr.Q on 05/22/06 at 4:15 PM