Posted on 06/03/2009 10:53:25 AM PDT by freespirited
An action by the US government is causing a flurry of not so complimentary comments across the internet. A group of 17 Uighur detainees who are on the road to release are being given laptops to train them for life outside Guantanamo.
Army Lt. Col. Miguel Mendez oversees detainee classes, as well as the multilingual library and, now, the new virtual computer lab. “We’re getting them computer classes to prepare for their return.” Nury Turkel is a Uighur rights activist in Washington, D.C. He felt the computer training would “give hope to the men that their freedom is nearing” after eight years in U.S. custody. DVD language training is part of the course, which along with basic computer skills should help them find future employment. He indicated that detainees heading to Spain, for example, would get basic Spanish language classes.
E-mail is being instituted, but restricted to an intranet on the base. Walking across the half acre compound with a note in hand will be about as effective as the internal intranet web that is being set up for them. However, they can learn “send” “bcc” and how to attach a document to their missives to each other. The men already have access to a telephone for contacting the outside world.
This isn’t the first time Gitmo residents have been given the use of laptops. In October, 2008, a judge allowed alleged terrorists 12 hours a day battery power to use Toughbooks prosecutors had loaded with the government’s evidence against them. The purpose was so they could review and prepare for their upcoming trials. The computers had no internet access.
The case of the Uighurs is a different story. Originally from what is often called Eastern Turkistan in the Republic of China, they are no longer detained as enemy combatants, and are housed separately under the least restrictive conditions deemed practical. They have never been charged and were officially cleared for release in September, 2008.
Although they are free to leave Guantanamo Bay, they must find a country willing to accept them. Sweden took in one such individual and has gotten nothing but diplomatic grief from China. The reason behind China’s dissatisfaction is the movement towards Uighur independence from China, by both peaceful and terrorist actions. The Uighur detainees at Gitmo are considered to be domestic terrorists by the Chinese government. Not so different from the Buddhist separatist faction in Nepal, the Muslim Uighurs believe a return to their homeland would result in religious discrimination. They fear harsh mistreatment at the hand of the restrictive Chinese government, due in part to the stigma of having been a prisoner at Guantanamo.
Do you think they have a warrant to monitor their online activity?
Is there a graduate School of Idiocy in government I don't know about?
What bleeding heart escapee from Darwin's ultimate fate dreamed this up?
I'm serious. I will ask every elected politician I can think of to give me a name. The name of the original proponent, as well as the stupidvisor who approved it.
This goes beyond stupid to criminal.
"...train then for life outside guantanamo?"
How about training them to be more proficient and efficient at planning and executing world wide terrorism?
Hello?
Anybody there? Am I Cynical?
You bet; and proud!
Ya think it might have been the same person who decided that taxpayers have to pay for colonoscopies on Gitmo detainees? Or the same person who has the staff baking homemade cookies for the inmates?
Come on man this is a ruse. Ya give the moosies a lapttop and let them go on line to talk to their operatives and make it so they can’t do it with out our ability to see what they say.
Simple deal.
They did the same thing to Zonker Harris years ago when he got busted in Texas when a cop found pot seeds in his cell.
Hey if they’re gonna be effective as ACORN members, they need skills.
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