Posted on 05/17/2006 5:26:39 AM PDT by RWR8189
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -- On Sunday, the Tribune editorial page asked readers: What should the U.S. do with the Guantanamo Bay detention camp? Harry B. Harris Jr., the commander of the Joint Task Force Guantanamo, offered this essay in response.
I lead the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and civilians responsible for the safe and humane care and custody of the unlawful enemy combatants held here at Guantanamo--a responsibility we take very seriously.
The question of what to do with enemy combatants--committed jihadists and terrorists--is relevant and important. As the person responsible for the detention of our nation's enemies held here, I appreciate and applaud the Chicago Tribune's posing of this serious question to your readership Sunday. Col. Robert McCormick would be pleased with the Tribune's efforts to address the pressing issues of our day.
The Tribune's characterization of Guantanamo as a "detention camp" is precisely correct. Despite our persistent efforts to correct the record, many mainstream outlets--print, voice and electronic--persist in referring to this facility as a "prison camp." This is not mere parsing of words or semantic folderol. Prisons are about punishment and rehabilitation; Guantanamo is about neither. What we are about is the detention of unlawful enemy combatants--dangerous men associated with Al Qaeda or the Taliban captured on the battlefield waging war on America and our allies, running from that battlefield, or otherwise closely associated with Al Qaeda and the Taliban--and, as you correctly pointed out, preventing them from returning to the fight. We
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
I was in charge of POWs during Desert Storm and all of them received better treatment after they were captured than they did when they were in Sadaam's Army. They were fed regularly, had showers, and were given the opportunity to practice their religion to the extent possible under the situation. (We didn't allow them to make pilgrimages to Mecca.). They had the same food, drinks, showers, toilets, and sleeping facilities that the US Military had. The difference was that they were confined to a 10,000 square meter area, while the military personnel could travel all the way to the perimeter of the base.
Don't take it personally. He only capitalized Marines and Coast Guardsmen because those were the only two services mentioned by name. The others were generic terms; soldiers, airmen, etc.
One on hand, I'm proud of our nation for treating detainees so well.
OTOH, I fail to see how treating these a-holes so well is gonna do anything for us.
As I understand it, the detainees at Gitmo are the hard-core, unbreakable ones. They are the ones that, as the article states, will try to fashion a weapon out of a toothbrush or throw bodily fluids at our soldiers.
Each detainee should have their Koran taken away for such infractions and be put on a restricted-calorie diet. We should also take away reading and writing materials. It's high time these detainees understand the consequences of their actions.
Seems to me that we're doing backflips to coddle these Islamo-murderers. Too much, in my opinion. But this still will not placate the likes of Dick Turban. Rule #1- Don't let the facts get in the way of a lefty diatribe.
Don't be offended. GTMO may have no Air Force personnel stationed there. (At least that was the case when I was stationed at GTMO during the Reagan administration.) The "airmen" were Navy.
However, if the Air Force is ever ordered to take over the aviation duties at GTMO, we are fully prepared as GTMO already has the first three things that are constructed in any new Air Force Base................
..................an NCO Club, an Officer's Club and a golf course. ;-)
I spent a couple of weeks at GITMO in 1975. It seemed like a good assignment. I would have liked to see more of the island.
There are Airmen stationed at the JTF.
Their positions are throughout the JTF.
Naval Air Station handles avaiation duties.
Looked up JTF:
That's a new tennant command we never had in the old days. During my one year tour at GTMO, we had Air Force personnel flying in and out (Nightingale flights, etc.) but I never once saw somebody from the Army or the Coast Guard.
At the time (early 1980's), the Naval Air Station at Leeward had a squadron of Skyhawks. What do they have now?
Just a few C-12's.
The JTF is a tennant of Guantanamo. The Naval Air Station supports the JTF, but is a seperate Command. The Marine Security Force falls under the NAVSTA.
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