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.
Of course he did. That is what they are. They were rounded up in a combat zone, armed and there for one reason. To kill our Soldiers and Iraqi Soldiers and civilians.
They are being coddled big time.
We should cancel their HBO, but the Liberals...and the Democrats...would think that is inhumane.
One question for these honorable members of Congress: Who's side are they on?
I would prefer it if they shared quarters with the "poor innocent childlike" terrorists. ;)
By the way, Joe Biden spent part of one day in Iraq, recently, and he'll tell you all about how wrong the policies are. LOL
Twits, the whole lot of them!
I mentioned the media perspective somewhere.
"I would hope that some of the liberal members of this group could actually remain there where they belong. I am sure that we can provide them with quiche, chablis, sushi, "Das Kapital" and all of the great writings of Gloria Steinham as well as a multi-year subscription to the "Nation". They would be released on the condition that they never run for public office again nor vote in any except those at the township and ward level.
Torture would consist of providing them with copies of the Torah, all of Judeo-Christian scripture, the U.S. Constitution, Pat Boone songs and piped in sermons by Billy Graham and the late Pope John Paul II."
I have been searching for articles from al jazerra that praise the democrats. All I have been able to find are just news articles. I posted the links to some liberals I am fighting with, and they pointed out that it was just news stories and not al jazerra supporting them. Technically, they're right. I'm looking for a way to wash the egg off my face. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
"Twits, the whole lot of them!"
Not exactly....Twits are merely clueless or stupid. These evil "Public Servants" know EXACTLY what they are doing and they should be treated according to the Constitution's provisions for aid and comfort to the enemy.
We need to take names of these and vote them OUT, at all costs, while meanwhile electing congressional reps that will HONOR the Constitution's treason provisions. A 'twofer' win.
This is the end, my faithful friends the end.
Who is going to tell that moron Ron Wyden, D-Ore -- where Guantanamo is located - and when they get there...
The jerk is so geography challenged -- how is hell can anyone trust his judgement or opinion on ANYTHING?
Most of the Democrats wouldn't recogize a fact, if it bit them in their a$$.
Semper Fi
Frankly, I don't give a damn what the rest of the world thinks of us. My goal is to have them fear us.
Ron Wyden? Now THAT is rich!
There's a criminal referral against Wyden relating to our national security.
>>Lawmakers in both parties want Congress to take a stand on the legal rights of detainees. <<<
Enemy Combatants don't get any rights.
This is such a joke. The prisoners are a Red Herring. Castro just wants Gitmo closed because of our base.
I am so damned sick and tired of these bleeding hearts who are worried about the terrorists.
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