Guantanamo conditions improve: U.S. lawmakers

[rcecale]

Haven't really seen much posted about this story...here OR on any news channel.

June 26, 2005: AP: GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — During a tour of the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists on Saturday, House Republicans and Democrats, including one who has advocated closing the facility, said the United States has made progress in improving conditions and protecting detainees' rights.

The rest of the story.

But heaven forbid some detainee find a hair in his soup...and all he!! breaks loose.

Randy

[stuartj]

Thats great.

Now, how about charging them with something? Maybe even a trial? And not the military kangaroo court that is proposed.

[rcecale]

details, stu, details. Care to post some?

Randy

[stuartj]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/31/opinion/courtwatch/main670659.shtml

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/02/24/usdom7585.htm

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Global-Terrorism/Amnesty-attacks-Hicks-trial-as-sham-justice/2005/02/14/1108229936602.html

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/1236

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6393330D-2A32-4439-BEF4-FB6126D06465.htm

[rcecale]

Okay, I'll play. Do you WANT trials for these guys, or do you NOT want trials for these guys?

Wait...lemme guess....your response is, "Just let them go." Is that close?

Randy

[stuartj]

Not a all.

Try them by the rule of law. Convict them, lock them up. Shoot them if you must.

Its what civilised society does.

[gavinlit]

Housing them within your countries borders would be a nice start. Then trial by jury with legal representation. You know, all those rights that we all think people should have. Or do we think that? Hhmm.

[rcecale]

Nice go at changing the topic, but the real point of this thread was to ask why does news like that in the article barely make it to page 8 of any rag? Why does it only receive mention as a 5 second sound clip on any of the liberally biased tv news channels?

As I said above, let one of these guys get a hair in his soup and you guys are all over it. The "atrocities", the "torture", you name it, you've spun it.

But any mention of something good, of something getting better, and it is all but ignored. And if you think I'm exaggerating, look at your own responses to my post.

Touche!
eewwwww, I spoke FRENCH!!!

Randy

[gavinlit]

It made the news over here - including footage of a democrat polly saying how things had improved and that she felt conditions were now equivalent to some centres in the US. It was also pointed out that while the pollies were given a bit of a guided tour it was still pretty much a media lock out. Not sure if this is accurate or not. I hope it has improved. Dosn't change the basic facts:
Detention without charge
Lack of trial & legal representation
Facility set up on foreign soil for good reason

= some pretty shonky practice. I would (again) feel happier if the military/govt came out and said 'look, we want to engage in practice that flouts a whole bunch of international conventions and detain people for an indefinite amount of time without trial - ok? - ok' At least I'd feel like they weren't so full of **** then. While I might not agree with the practice I'd admire the integrity. Currently they've got neither.

[lendaddy]

POW's deserve jury trials during the war? Is this new? What did I miss?

[legion]

Further, POW's are people wearing uniforms fighting for an established army that belongs to a sovereign country. A collection of psychos taking pot-shots at our troops isn't mentioned in the Geneva Convention, yet somehow they deserve all of the rights without meeting any of the requirements.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by legion
Further, POW's are people wearing uniforms fighting for an established army that belongs to a sovereign country. A collection of psychos taking pot-shots at our troops isn't mentioned in the Geneva Convention, yet somehow they deserve all of the rights without meeting any of the requirements.

Agreed, but I was giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[widebody911]

These aren't POW's - the administration has gone to great lengths to dance around the POW label so they would not be subject to the quaint restrictions of the Geneve Convention. These are random citizens of various foreign countries that have been, for all intents and purposes, kidnapped by US forces and held incommunicado in an offshort torture facility.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by widebody911
These are random citizens of various foreign countries that have been, for all intents and purposes, kidnapped by US forces and held incommunicado in an offshort torture facility.

For the purpose of?

[rcecale]

Originally posted by widebody911
These are random citizens of various foreign countries that have been, for all intents and purposes, kidnapped by US forces and held incommunicado in an offshort torture facility.

"Random citizens?" Come on, Thom, you know better than that. Seriously.

Randy

[legion]

But we released some of them. That proves they were random citizens and not terrorists intent on killing us.

(We won't mention that many of those we released were re-captured or killed.)

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by rcecale
"Random citizens?" Come on, Thom, you know better than that. Seriously.

Randy

No really, like two of the prisoners reported that their neighbors turned them in for bounty money. In other news, 80% are totally innocent per their own testimony

[legion]

I think they should be tried in California. That way we are assured of an accurate verdict.

[widebody911]

Originally posted by rcecale
"Random citizens?" Come on, Thom, you know better than that. Seriously.


Ok, if it's so obvious that they were "terrorists" then why not properly try them and be done with it? Oh, that's right, they're being held for the massive amounts of intel being harvested. After 3 years of genital shock therapy, these guys have probably confessed to the Kennedy assasination, the Milli Vanilli scandal, and the Boston Tea Party by now.

Or Jose Padilla: if they're so sure he's a terrorist, then put him on trial - put up or shut up.

I think the real reason is this: if they weren't terrorists going in, they will be when they get out. I know if that was done to me, I'd rip someone's spleen out with my bare hands and fry it on my George Foreman grill. The fact that I don't know what a spleen looks like probably wouldn't slow me down much.

The scary bit that we liberals see clear as day but the NeoCon groupies don't is this: The Bush administration has granted itself wide ranging extra-legal powers to handle people it doesn't like in any way it sees fit, the Constitution and Geneva Convention be damned. The really scary bit is that can be anyone - US citizen or not. They can declare you an "enemy combatant," have you disappeared, and they don't have to explain themselves to anyone. You think this is a 'good thing' because you're under the mistaken assumption they would never do this to you or anyone you know.

[widebody911]

Originally posted by legion
(We won't mention that many of those we released were re-captured or killed.)

Cite?