U.N.: Guantanamo Detainees Should Be Freed or Tried
In a show of incredible chutzpah, the UN said that “The U.S. government should release all suspected terrorists it’s holding at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or try them”. It should also be noted that Mort Kondracke said that China, Cuba, Nepal, Zimbabwe and another human rights violator were part of the the nations on the Human Rights Commission that issued this report. As Mort put it, these countries aren’t “human rights stars.” You can’t argue that.
Here’s the part that says that this report isn’t serious:
Although the authors of the U.N. report declined to visit the military facility to gather information, they did base some of their conclusions on interviews with former detainees and attorneys.
Did it even dawn on these ‘investigators’ that former detainees and their attorneys might not tell them the truth? Or didn’t they care because they wanted to mock the U.S.? Even Ted Kennedy and Dick Durbin visited Gitmo.
In the unlikely chance that Gitmo is closed, would the U.S. release the captured terrorists back to the country they were caught in? If they would, that means that they’d be held in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, which aren’t known for their gentle treatment of prisoners.
The 54-page report also recommends closing the jail “without further delay.” As of last October, about 520 people were being detained at Guantanamo, said the report from U.N. Commission on Human Rights, based in Geneva, Switzerland. It singled out “all special interrogation techniques authorized by the Department of Defense,” urging they be revoked immediately.
No thanks. We’ll do whatever is needed to get vital information out of them and we won’t think twice about it. Or regret it.
And it called for the U.S. government not to send detainees to countries where there are “substantial grounds for believing” they might be tortured, a process called extraordinary rendition.
Every detainee must be given the right to complain about his treatment and have any complaints dealt with “promptly and, if requested, confidentially,” it said. And any allegations of “torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” must be investigated by an independent authority and those involved, “up to the highest level of military and political command”, must be brought to justice, the report said. Those victims of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment should be compensated by the U.S. government, it continued.
Citing the ‘McCain-Graham’ clause is just plain crazy. Notice, too, that the UNHRC is trying to criminalize the U.S. military structure up to and including Donald Rumsfeld. Consider that a not-so-veiled threat to drag us into the ICC, too. That’s yet another reason why I’m thankful that President Bush got elected. The ICC is nothing more than another tool for America’s enemies to extract revenge on our soldiers and leaders.
Thank goodness these human rights violators were on the commission and thank God that they didn’t visit Gitmo. They’re now exposed as being America-haters and their report is discredited.
Cross-post at LetFreedomRing
February 17th, 2006 at 4:54 am
Even the US Government is not saying that every one of the Guantanimo detainees has acted against the United States or its military forces. Independent reviews by American attornies of a sample 135 of the prisoners indicate that up to 80% were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time and are not terrorists, nor are they members of Al Queda or Taliban.
Besides, the US Government has been releasing them in small numbers anyway, to governments where they face no charges. The writer has focused all of his attention on the UN when, in fact, this is about prisoners. They have been captured, not charged with any crimes and they may never be charged. If there are true terrorists among them, then, certainly they should be charged and tried. Trials would give international legitemacy to their detention.
Regarding the author’s citation of McCain-Graham, it is not mentioned in the quotation from the UNHRC. The author should agree that all alegations of torture, whether they be against Americans or foreign nationals should be investigated. President Bush has said likewise on numerous occations. No one is saying that Secretary Rumsfeld should be prosecuted unless he gave specific permission for torture which he has not given; he is against torture, too.
The only way to promote human rights is to be in favor of strong international human rights treaties and their strict enforcement. Surely the author agrees with this premise.
We must support President Bush during this time of war, but we must, at the same time, support the continued United States committment to humane treatment of prisoners, just as we expect our citizens to be treated humanely when captured abroad for whatever reasons.
February 17th, 2006 at 8:48 am
Regarding the author’s citation of McCain-Graham, it is not mentioned in the quotation from the UNHRC.
“torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentâ€Â
I respectfully disagree with your assertion and the phrase in bold print proves it as it comes from quotes from both senators.
As for releasing prisoners, a number of prisoners released have been recaptured on the battlefields. Granted, it isn’t a big number but I know that it’s more than a dozen. That’s a dozen more people than I want to take a chance on.
Quite frankly, the human rights issue has become a whiner’s paradise. This process used to be governed by common sense but that’s gone out the window. The process is now littered with self-serving claims with no proof of harm.
And frankly, if they truly were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, how would we know? Take their word on it? That’s so twisted that it isn’t worth listening to.
No one is saying that Secretary Rumsfeld should be prosecuted unless he gave specific permission for torture which he has not given; he is against torture, too.
Yes it does if you know how to interpret international reports. When it says “And any allegations of “torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment†must be investigated by an independent authority and those involved, “up to the highest level of military and political commandâ€Â, must be brought to justice, the report said.”, that’s dealing specifically with the ICC. In the UN’s mind, the term independent authority can’t mean the originating country. That means the world court, with military investigations going to the ICC.
The other argument that we’d better treat prisoners well so that our guys get treated well is laughable. Does anyone think that soldiers captured by the Taliban or al Qaida will be treated humanely? Whether we treat them nicely or not, our soldiers will be brutalized.
I’d take a different perspective if we were fighting a traditional war, however.