As the ACLU video below vividly demonstrates, among the prisoners held in harsh conditions at Guantanamo Bay, also called Gitmo, are detainees kept there since they were captured as teenagers. Omar Khadr has spent almost one-third of his life at Guantanamo. Mohammed Jawad, held since the age of 16, is held on such flimsy evidence that his former prosecutor has joined in a habeas corpus petition to have him released.
Both men have been subjected to torture, including sleep deprivation, being suspended by their wrists, and being used as a "human mop" to wipe up urine. Frankly, their treatment by authorities acting under the authority of the Bush administration seems almost designed to make them despise the United States.
Khadr is scheduled to go to trial soon after Barack Obama takes the oath of office. That would be a travesty. It's fair to consider the handling of the human rights disaster at Guantanamo a test of the new president's intentions and simple decency. How he handles the likes of Khadr and Jawad will provide important insight into how he's likely to use his vast powers in dealing with the rest of us.
Unfortunately, the fact that Guantanamo has been allowed to exist at all is likely to be a permanent blot on this country's record.
You might also enjoy these:
- Former Guantanamo prosecutor, ACLU support detainee's bid for freedom
- Plans in place to close Guantanamo -- eventually
- More evidence that torture is ineffective in war on terrorism
- Trials the only reasonable step for Guantanamo detainees
- Guantanamo Bay detainees require new president's quick attention
- Courts torn over Guantanamo torture
- Prosecutor Darrel Vandeveld resigns over fairness of Guantanamo trials
- Hamdan proceeding rotten to the core
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Contact J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com
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