Guantanamo's Forgotten Soldier (from 2005 + link to documentary)

[EFerrari]

Guantanamo’s Forgotten Soldier
William Fisher, Arab News


Many people will remember Janice Karpinsky, the US Army reserve brigadier general who was reprimanded and demoted for failing to stop the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

But few will remember Brig. Gen. Rick Baccus, who was sacked as commander of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo), for coddling detainees.

Under Gen. Baccus’ watch, detainees were granted such privileges as distributing copies of the Qur’an, providing prisoners with “rights cards,” special meals, adjusting meal times for Ramadan and other Muslim holidays, and disciplining prison guards for screaming at inmates. Inmates were told they need only give their name, rank and number.

Many of these are the same practices the Pentagon now proudly hails as examples of its humane treatment of detainees.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=67107&d=18&m=7&y=2005

See also: The New Rules of War, documentary.


YouTube clip:
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=The+New+Rules+of+War&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&fr2=tab-web&tnr=21&vid=000166535964

Playing on LinkTV: 11pm tonight and see schedule for other airings.

Gitmo - The New Rules of War
Category: Documentaries
Regions: North America, Europe, Middle East
Topics: Human Rights, Political Institutions / Systems, War / Violent Conflict

Sweden, 79 minutes

Dir: Erik Gandini and Tarik Saleh

Winner, 1st prize – Seattle International Film Festival
Jury Special mention – Miami International Film Festival

This investigative documentary examines the interrogation practices at the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention facility, aka GITMO. The mission of the young Swedish filmmakers to conduct an on-site investigation of how U.S. officials seek intelligence in the Global War on Terrorism is thwarted by a shrewd and well rehearsed U.S. military PR machine that welcomes them to the base with a smile, but manages affairs on its own terms.

The journalists are shown how the soldiers live, how they shop and how they play golf. They are permitted to interview certain soldiers under supervision of senior officers who stop the interview if they deem questions unsuitable. Even though filmmakers Gandini and Saleh are not allowed to meet or talk to any prisoners, at night, they hear them screaming in their cages. The U.S. military response? "They are saying their prayers."

In response to the lack of access to prisoners, the filmmakers captured testimonials from others who have been released, or since left Gitmo. Interviews include "private contractors" who worked in the camp and, because they are not U.S. military, were allowed to torture the prisoners. They recount the various methods of abuse conducted at the base.

Also interviewed is Janet Karpinski, blamed in the torture scandals in Iraq, who tells how methods were exported from Guantanamo to Iraq, and suggests that such methods were sanctioned by high-ranking officials in the U.S. government. Perhaps the most memorable of the interviewees is an ex-prisoner – a young Swedish man named Mehdi Ghezali whose vow of silence about his experiences in Guantanamo offers a whiff of the many untold truths yet to emerge about the War on Terror.

http://www.linktv.org/programs/gitmo

[libodem]

1. Amnesty International

just called while I was reading this, asking for a donation. They are receiving matching funds from a contributer with money. I'm going to try and scratch up $25.00 to send. I wish I was rich.

[EFerrari]

2. I just saw this last night. Baccus is the man they had to fire

in order to torture people at Gitmo. That had gone right over my head.

[EFerrari]

3. Kick