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Not-So Extreme Makeover: Gitmo Edition

Damon's picture
Submitted by Damon on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 4:34am
Departments: 
Department of Genocide, Torture, and Tyranny
Thread: 
Iraq Clusterfuck
Middle East Clusterfuck
Republicans vs. the Constitution
Homeland Insecurity
Tags: 
Guantanamo
Change by Attrition

It looks like the Pentagon is continuing on its all-out offensive to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison camp open by trying to put cosmetic touches on a prison set up on inherently unconstitutional grounds: indefinite seizure and gaining intelligence by torture.

WASHINGTON, (AFP) – A Pentagon report has found conditions at the controversial Guantanamo prison in line with the Geneva Conventions, but called for the isolation of some inmates to be eased by allowing them more social contact and recreation.

Admiral Patrick Walsh, who presented the review's findings on Monday, said providing high-security detainees the chance for more social activity was "essential to maintain humane treatment over time."

"In our opinion, the key to socialization is providing more human-to-human contact; recreation activities with several detainees together; intellectual stimulation and group prayer," Walsh told a news conference.

Admiral Walsh, the issue here isn't to be solved with cosmetic touches to "socialization". Sorry, Walsh, a few new ping-pong tables and a prayer group isn't going to cut it, here. The problem is so beyond whether the prison is being ran well or not, it is that it's set up as an Extra-Constitutional zone, at all.

Effecting our president's "change" is liking pulling teeth. Well, I've got a term for this incremental application of change: Change by Attrition. I'll keep up my call that Director Robert Gates has to be shown the door if we're to even begin to get beyond this policy of Change by Attrition with the Pentagon.

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Damon's picture
Submitted by Damon on

I'm not sure if I understand, this:

US asks Spain to take Guantanamo detainees: foreign minister

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Spain Tuesday to take in prisoners from the US "war on terror" detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said.

After years of chilly relations, Moratinos' first meeting with Clinton opened the way for a new phase in Spain's diplomatic relations with President Barack Obama, he told reporters.

During their 20-minute meeting at the State Department, Clinton asked for "help in solving this drama, this unacceptable tragedy of the prisoners at Guantanamo," Moratinos said.

"I responded that Spain is ready, in principle, to cooperate by taking in some prisoners as long as the legal conditions are acceptable," he said, adding that Madrid would do so on a "case-by-case."

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