Only a matter of time…

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


According to one detainee lawyer, there are still some 500 hours of unreleased video footage of prisoners in Guantanmo Bay, some of it containing evidence of abuse by the U.S. military. But what’s truly sick and perplexing, as the Daily Telegraph reports, is how lawyers first learned about the existence of this footage:

[T]he U.S. military videotaped the actions of the Immediate Reaction Force (IRF) who were responsible for prisoner control at Guantanamo Bay… Evidence of the violence used by the IRF came to light when a member of the U.S. military… identified as Specialist Baker, applied for medical discharge after being involved in a training session.

Here is where things gets weird. This “training session” involved Baker, a U.S. soldier, being dressed in orange jumpsuit prisoner garb and handed over to the IRF squad, which was told that he was in fact a detainee who had abused a guard. The IRF apparently did such a good job working Baker over that he needed to apply for medical discharge from the military due to the brain damage he received from the beating.

The ACLU is pushing for the video footage to be released, though U.S. officials are refusing due to “privacy concerns.” Meanwhile, numerous former detainees from Afghanistan and Guantanamo have come forward with allegations of abuse—oftentimes claiming that videotapes and photographs were used as a part of the humiliation process. It seems like it’s just a matter of time before even more visual material emerges. The internet and inexpensive digital technology have enabled soldiers to bring home the war in an unprecedented way. We have already seen an explosion of soldiers’ personal footage online, and it’s likely that new incriminating footage will come from members of the U.S. military who have documented unconscionable acts—especially if they entail soldiers abusing soldiers.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate