Posted on 06/25/2005 9:35:57 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
American lawmakers on Saturday were touring the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists for the first time since recent harsh condemnation of Guantanamo detainees' treatment and renewed demands that the camp close.
"Guantanamo has become a lightening rod," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif.
She was one of 16 members of the House Armed Services Committee who were on a one-day fact-finding trip. Sens Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., were visiting the prison separately.
Lawmakers from both parties fear that the prison at the U.S. Navy base has become an image problem because of claims that U.S. interrogators abuse and torture inmates.
In this photo reviewd by the U.S. military, a guard The chairman of the House committee, Rep. Duncan Hunter, said such criticism amounted to "wild accusations." Hunter, R-Calif., blamed "propagandists" for spreading "rumor and innuendo" to hurt the U.S.
Under increasing attacks over conditions at the prison, the White House and Pentagon have defended almost daily the conditions and treatment of detainees at Guantanamo.
At a recent news conference, President Bush went so far as to invite journalists to see the prison and see that the allegations were false.
Just last week, human rights investigators for the United Nations urged the U.S. to allow them inside to inspect the facility. They cited "persistent and credible" reports of "serious allegations of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees" as well as arbitrary detentions and violations of rights.
In response, Vice President Dick Cheney told CNN on Thursday that the detainees are well treated, well fed and "living in the tropics."
The prison on the base in eastern Cuba opened in January 2002 to house foreigners believed to be linked to the ousted Taliban in Afghanistan or al-Qaida. U.S. officials hoped to gather intelligence from the detainees after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.
Bush declared the detainees "enemy combatants," affording them fewer rights than prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Some detainees have been held for three years without being charged with any crimes even though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled they have some rights.
An FBI report last year cited cases of aggressive interrogation techniques and detainee mistreatment.
Condemnation of Guantanamo intensified this spring after Newsweek magazine published - and later retracted - a story that claimed interrogators flushed the Muslim holy book down a toilet.
The Bush administration condemned the report and blamed it for deadly demonstrations in Afghanistan and protests throughout the Middle East. A Pentagon investigation later disclosed five instances of U.S. guards' mishandling the Quran.
Amnesty International then branded Guantanamo "the gulag of our time," compared it with the Soviet work camps where thousands of people perished, and alleged a pattern of mistreatment similar to that at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
The administration says any proven infractions were isolated.
The debate about Guantanamo's role has taken center stage in Washington.
Presidents Carter and Clinton joined fellow Democrats in saying that it should be shot down. Even some Republicans have questioned whether it should stay open.
White House officials say there are no plans to close the facility because the detainees are too dangerous to release while the fight against terrorism continues.
About 520 prisoners are held at Guantanamo. Already, $110 million has been spent on construction at the base. The prison costs about $95 million a year to operate.
Lawmakers in both parties want Congress to take a stand on the legal rights of detainees. Other lawmakers are pushing for an independent commission to investigate abuse allegations. The White House objects and says the Pentagon already has investigated.
The last lawmaker to visit the prison was Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., in March. Not including Saturday's trip, 11 senators and 77 representatives have toured the prison.
Interesting typo from AP's Liz Sidoti, doncha think?
Molly Hennenberg of FNC reporting on her visit at Gitmo right now.
She ate the same food the terrorists get to eat. Guards have things thrown at them. Terrorists threaten to kill them someday. The guards are told to just deal with it. Bah!
HELLOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
These are TERRORISTS!!!!!
Would these idiots prefer to NOT interrogate them and NOT prevent attacks on innocent US citizens?!
I spent a year of active duty at GTMO.
The infrastructure for the base is already there and has been functioning for decades. I can't imagine how any tenant command at GTMO could possibly suck up $95 million per year in operating expenses.
An Air Force pilot friend has made the exact remark. Obviously, he's been through SERE school.
He's totally disgusted with this whole play by the Dems / media.
That number probably has all the pay and benefits for the guards included.
PIng
Exactly. He'd have to have a food taster if he wanted to eat :-)
And these are the people that Diane Feinstein was worried about suffering from Post Traumatic Disorder
ROLLING MY EYE .... ~/~
Just checking out the new digs before they move in, I hope.
Close. Taking your idea a step further, how stupid does any have to be not to realize their real goal? What are these morons seeking? How are they looking to benefit America in it's war against terrorism?
Imagine being a soldier who probably doesn't get to eat as well as the terrorists and has threats shouted and things thrown and is told to "just deal with it".
Molly did say that if the situation gets bad, the terrorists get various creature comforts taken away temporarily. Big whoop.
I THINK she said, but can't confirm, that the terrorists sometimes also threaten to kill the soldiers' families someday. That would require more self control, on the part of soldiers, than I have, that's for sure. And I hope they are spitting in their food. LOL
I suggest they spend the night at the prison - just so it will be known that they saw round-the-clock operation of the facility and got to talk to the prisons, interact with them, eat with them.
Otherwise, it could all just be staged to present a good image.
Afterall, we are paying for their trip and we want the truth - how does it feel to be a prisoner of the U.S?
Only 11 senators? And how many of them have shot their mouths off?
I'm surprised they didn't wait until November or December.
That's exactly what they want.
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