Posted on 08/10/2005 5:28:17 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The U.S. military plans to ease conditions for some detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — housing them in a renovated section with televisions, stereos and a view of the Caribbean, the detention center's commanding officer said in court papers.
For the past several weeks, the military has been renovating Camp Iguana for detainees who are deemed no longer a threat to the United States, Brig Gen. Jay Hood said in an affidavit filed late Tuesday in federal court in Washington.
The renovations are scheduled to be finished around Aug. 15, and some of those designated "No Longer Enemy Combatants," or NLEC's, will be able to live in communal housing with air conditioning, unlimited showers and additional food, Hood said.
"The living conditions for NLEC's have been evolving and will continue to do so," the general said in the affidavit.
Camp Iguana, which was previously used for daytime recreation for Guantanamo detainees considered the most compliant, has been closed for six months. The reason for the closure or the cost of the upgrade was not immediately available, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
Hood's affidavit was filed by the government in the case of two Chinese Uighurs, A'Del Abdu Al-Hakim and Abu Baker Qassim, who the government says were captured in Pakistan as they fled a Taliban military training camp near Tora Bora, Afghanistan in 2001.
The military has determined that the Uighurs, a persecuted minority in their native China, are no longer enemy combatants, but under U.S. law can't be deported back to their native China because they could face persecution or torture.
U.S. officials say they are trying to find another country to accept the two men and other Uighurs who have been detained at the prison for terror suspects at the base in eastern Cuba.
Sabin Willett, a lawyer for the two Uighurs, has argued that while authorities try to figure out where to send the men the government should either release them on bond in the United States, place them in a less restrictive facility for illegal migrants at Guantanamo or let them live among military personnel at the base. A federal judge held a hearing on the matter last week but has not issued a ruling.
Hood's affidavit argues for placing them in the refurbished Camp Iguana, on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea, along with at least two other Uighurs.
The United States holds about 520 detainees at Guantanamo Bay but the State Department says that it is negotiating with a number of countries to return their nationals. Earlier this month the United States reached agreement with Afghanistan to return roughly 100 Afghans to their country.
This is sure to boost Rush's profits from Club Gitmo to unprecedented highs!
This is freaking INSANE!
Try Admin Moderator ot Lead Moderator
Yep...its gone.
"The most serious terrorists do not fear prison here. Captain Jeff VanAntwerp, who commands Alpha Company, recently told me that Iraqis joke among themselves that they would pay 5,000 Dinar per night to stay at Abu Ghraib prison. It's air conditioned, the showers are good, the food is good, and the water is good. The mother seemed to know this and it curled in contempt behind her smile."
Jungle Law [AMAZING report from Iraq]
It's about halfway into the article, excellent read.
Cliff side overlooking the Caribbean Sea and getting the best chow the US can buy.
I'm going to be ill.
I don't get a vacation this freaking nice...I'm lucky if I can get to the Jersey Shore.
Can we declare ourselves enemy combatants and swim to the Island?
I'm game lets get a bunch together and call ourselves a catchy terrorists group name and plead to be taken to Club Gitmo.
How about Freeperists? You know, part of the vrwc?
honestly, I think the plan is to repatriate as many of them as we can. the inner core of top AQ guys - we ship them off to the prison (where it is, I don't know, Diego Garcia?) where we are holding KSM, Zubayda and BinAlSheeb. Its just a matter of time before the SCOTUS gets this case and gives them full US civil right to trial, we might as well stay ahead of that.
what do you think will ultimately happen to KSM, Zubayda, and BinAlSheeb? I don't think they will be given tribunals, I think they are just going to become "invisible" people.
I think those three will see a US firing squad.
really? you never hear a word about them, would their tribunals even be made public? I wonder if it pays to keep them alive so long as OBL and AZ are still at large.
We could hang them and the world wouldn't be the wiser.
If we are really cagey, we'll demand to be sent to Superclubs Varadero, about two hours east of Havana. All food/drink included in the price, and the only Cubans allowed on the premises are the workers. The beaches are like powdered sugar, parasailing, SCUBA diving - all included.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.