Posted on 01/10/2002 8:46:33 AM PST by vannrox
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon will use unprecedented security measures, possibly sedation, as it begins flying Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners from Afghanistan to a Navy prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, USA Today reported in its Thursday editions.
Officials say it's possible that the cargo planes will be accompanied by fighter jet escorts for at least a portion of their flights.
The prisoners will be chained to their seats and outnumbered roughly 2-to-1 by security guards as they are flown to Cuba aboard Air Force cargo jets, each carrying 20 to 30 prisoners. They might also be sedated, the newspaper reported, quoting unnamed military sources.
The official said prisoners will be manacled and possibly hooded during the trip, will not be able to leave their seats for any reason and will be chained to one another. Devices were to be provided to allow bodily functions in place.
The guards will carry stun guns rather than pistols, the sources told USA Today.
The transfer of most of 368 prisoners was to take place over a period of weeks and all of them may not go to Cuba, the newspaper reported, quoting a military source.
There was also a possibility of transfers of prisoners to smaller C-141 jets in an unnamed nation for the flights to Cuba with total flying time as long as 20 hours, according to the report.
A senior military official familiar with planning for the estimated 12 to 20 flights said the mission could be the largest transfer of dangerous prisoners during wartime.
Officials say it isn't clear what method will be used to select the first groups of prisoners to be transferred.
The U.S. military is holding 306 prisoners at a base in Kandahar, 38 at a facility in Bagram, 16 at Mazar-e-Sharif and eight aboard the Navy ship USS Bataan in the Arabian Sea.
Many of the former al-Qaeda fighters, members of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, and officials from the Taliban regime that had harbored the terrorists, are considered extremely dangerous, the newspaper said.
The Air Force has trained law enforcement teams known as ''Ravens'' who are experienced operating aboard aircraft.
The Bush administration plans for military tribunals to try captured terrorists. The trials were expected to occur outside the USA. The Pentagon is expanding its base at Guantanamo Bay to accommodate hundreds of prisoners.
Among those in custody are Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi and Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, two al-Qaeda terrorist training camp directors. Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, also is being held.
I note it doesn't say anything about containment, just "allowing". LOL
Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Before we send 'em to, Guantanamo, oh
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Just get them to the airport, put 'em on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry, then we'll bomb Hussein
Castro can't believe it, it's driving him insane
Oh no oh oh oh oh
Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
No one to kill, nothing to blow, oh
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Just chain 'em to their seat, that's where they'll be
Hurry hurry hurry, eat a BLT
That was too easy, now they're feeling queasy
Oh no oh oh oh oh
Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Before we send 'em to, Guantanamo, oh
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Just chain 'em in their seats, get 'em on the go
Hurry hurry hurry, let 'em bug Castro
They can't control their people, not any mo'
Oh no oh oh oh oh
Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
No one to kill, nothing to blow, oh
Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Just chain 'em to their seats, get 'em to the show
Hurry hurry hurry, they're already loco
The conjugal visit's here, it's Janet Reno
Oh no oh oh oh oh
Ta-li-baba-ba, baba-ban, Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Ta-li-baba-ba, baba-ban, Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Ta-li-baba-ba, baba-ban, Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Ta-li-baba-ba, baba-ban, Al-Qaeda needa be sedated
Jesus H. Christ!
Still, I think transportation in sailing vessels with them rowing as galley slaves might be more appropriate.
Wonder what Himself think of these so-called conservatives.
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