The US runs a network of AT LEAST 20 secret prisons

Not too many things are antithetical to constitutional and moral principles than secret prisons. Keeping prisoners incommunicato in remote, sometimes undisclosed facilities with no meaningful oversight brings to mind medieval dungeons. Yet, 21st century America has set up at LEAST 20 such shadowy dungeons. Some are officially admitted to exist, although we have next to no idea of what goes on inside, but authorities won't even concede the existence of some of the others. Both George W. Bush and State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Cofer Black have stated that at least 3,000 detainees have entered this subterranean network of Off-the-book prisons.

The most well-known no-man's-land is at the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Originally, detainees were held in the outdoor Camp X-Ray; then they were moved to Camp Delta, built by Halliburton for an average cost of $47,550 for each 6-by-8-foot cell. The number of people held at this Caribbean gulag is usually given as somewhere around 600.

The other dark hole with the highest visibility is the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, which dominated world headlines for weeks after '60 minutes' quit obeying the Pentagon and mustered the courage to broadcast photos of prisoners being beaten, abused, and sexually humiliated by giddy US military personnel.

The final facility with a somewhat high profile is the Collection Center located at the US Air Force Base in Bagram, Afghanistan, which is said to be the primary detention center in that country. (The CIA has its own off-the-record hellhole in Bagram, plus another one - called The Pit - in Kabul.) Then there's the holding pen at Kandahar, supposedly just a way station for those headed to Bagram to enjoy the Air Force's hospitality. US Central Command has said that Afghanistan has many more facilities, as many as 20, that are just temporary stops on the road to Bagram, eaither directly or via Kandahar. The number of detainees is reprtedly 300-something.

Iraq is home to a bare minimum of twelve detainment facilities run by the US military or the so-called Coalition. In addition to Abu Ghraib, the two big facilities are Camp Cropper and Camp Bucca, with smaller ones scattered about.

The only known Constitution-free detention center on US soil is the Consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, South Carolina. It's home to two US citizens - Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi - who were held without legal recourse for two years before the Supreme Court half-heartedly stepped into the vicious battle over their fates. The brig also holds Qatar citizen Ali Kahlah al-Marri, who was originally indicted on fraud and vague terrorism charges through the normal justice process; just before trial, though, Bush declared him an enemy combatant, and he was whisked into the brig.

Numerous news articles focus on detention centers in Pakistan, but US authorities refuse to comment. The neather-confirm-nor-deny approach also hold for a reported CIA vacation spot in Jordan, the Al Jafr prison. On the other hand, the Pentagon specifically denies continued reports of captives being held at the US Naval Base on the supremely remote island of Diego Garcia.

Human RIghts First, the first group to tally all of these secret prisons, also notes that small numbers of detainees - including "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh - have been held for short periods abourd US warships...

The group points out the Grand Canyon-size gulf between words and deeds: "In Its Country Reports on human rights conditions abroad, the US Department of State has consistantly criticized the practice of holding individuals incommunicado in secret facilities."

Grock

They are also transporting prisoners from one secret prison to another, why i don't know?.

There was recently a well placed criticism of the Danish government, allowing theese transports to fly, in Danish air space.

Secret prisons...
is it because we must not know who is imprisoned?
is it because we must not know what is going on at theese prisons?

either way it... it stinks!

Its stuff like this that always makes me want to fight! Secret prisons everywhere.. When SHTF we are gonna be the terrorists they want... I just read a news item a few weeks back on Blacklistednews.com about 700ish prisons recently build fully ready and guarded but no people to fill em yet :S

reply to post by Neoblade

---

Guess the terrorists are getting smarter in evading capture if the U.S. government can't find them to fill in these new 700 hotels you mentioned about. You think the terrorists would at least be happy about the new conditions that includes a Koran and a piece of carpet.

What is the purpose of secret prisons?
Is it to allow brutalization to go unchecked?
Is it to deny any kind of human rights?

If things are handled in a lawful manner, why hide the prisoners?
I strongly suspect these are hidden for very dark reasons.
As a supporter of the death penalty, even I have to take issue with this type of treatment.

reply to post by Grock

---

ALL fair points, But the facts are, for the past forty years these so called detain-es have been training, and brain washing young boys, and then westerners are kidnaped and beheaded, they are anti-american and if put on U.S. soil in public prisons, Good American LAWYERS would then free them to KILL again, Bn. commanders in the army who do not supervise the company commanders, who do not supervise their NCO's, Well Ms. General lost that Job. Also Converts to that type of cause, should BE labeled RAH-RAH Girls.

reply to post by Bluess

---

History, History, History, They have entered the history books because of all the valid points made, What about those young, Who could have been Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers turned into gound meat, a brother,cousin,uncles in the Name of What, POPPY Fields.

Where, are they the old Cuban training camps
JFK had shut down.


Our government protects us very well, very well.

'The terrorists'
You really think there are that many terrorists running around America?

These prisons are for American citizens and every one of us knows this.

[edit on 14-12-2007 by NewWorldOver]

You and every sensible, non-brainwashed citizen in this country should take issue with this bullox. Secret prisons where citizens can be secretly executed for the smallest offense.

The only people who are not alarmed by this news honestly think that there are thousands of terrorists running around waiting to be captured and that these prison are made for them...

they don't realize that every American citizen is liable to be punished as a terrorist in their own country for the SLIGHTEST display of disloyalty to the government. It sickens me.

well in the event of a wide spread economic depression when the bankers model of ............debt= wealth creation breaks down ...........and jobs go bye bye and spending does as well. what would you do with a mass chaos situation? this is a possible option for detainment camps IMO as well as resistors should gun rights be repealed. Mass homelessness could lead to people filling these camps to perform cheap labor in exchange for a roof over their heads.

the interconnectedness of all this may prove to be a burden for many of the western nations including u.s, Uk, japan, bascially all the central banks which have sworn this week to "work together"

I've never thought of it that way. Very interesting. This doesn't alleviate my concern that the government will round people up by the thousands and throw them in prison for avoiding a microchip etc. Secret Prisons in that large a number are not for normal criminals or homeless people.

What would be the purpose of a secret prison?


1. To torture U.S. Citizens without media interfering

2. To test out new torture methods and toys

3. To harvest blood! For the reptilians...

4. To test run methods for imprisonment in future situations


We already know what they have planned, this is just more proof of something extremely shady happening out-of-view. If anything, whatever the world's leaders truly deserve should be implemented in one of their secret prisons...

Secret things can happen in secret prisons. Thats why they are there.

reply to post by Grock

---

evidence please

you claim there are over 20 " secret " prison facilities - then provide zero evidence

instead you focus on 4 well known facilities whoes existance has never been denied

where is the evidence for 16+ more ???

how did you come to this tally ????????????

PS - please do not retreat behind the excuse of " well they are secret " that just does not wash - you have made a claim and provided a number - so what is the evidence and where are they ??

They're not guilty until they've been tried, and I don't think these secret prisons are routinely putting people up for a fair trial. You can't say for sure they've done ANYTHING until they've been tried. Or does due process only apply to white folks?

You think America is just one big world? Have you ever thought to notice where most of the terrorists have been captured and put in Gitmo? Hmmmm........I believe most of them are non-Americans. Thats shocking!!!! And you were so certain they were all Americans.

reply to post by shadow watcher

---

You know my conspiracist mind tells me that our government is doing something illegal when using this secret facilities.

The term terrorist is use as to placate the sensibilities of the American population.

But . . . why so secret? it is like you said is realy torture the problem.

Or it is because this facilities is housing real American citizens been targeted by our own American government.

People just like us with something that our government doesn't like or people with too much knowledge of certain secrets.

So much secrecy is bound to keep the conspiracies growing rather than making proud Americans rejoice on the torture methods of our government on the so call terrorist.

A government like ours that is supposed to be for the people and by the people is keeping secrets to the people that they are elected to serve.

I agree with Marge......I think theres something more to this story. Now missing CIA video tapes? God knows what were on them.....this is a much grander secret, that could never get out. According to MSN, we have a facility in Thailand (out of reaches US laws).

You realize the US government denies Area 51 exist even though it can be found on Google Earth..... So lets just use that as an example, we know Area 51 exists... Isn't it more then likely that the US government has many more facilities like Area 51 that no one knows about.... So to demand the locations and names for places that can be denied even when their existence is obvious and not to mention these places have signs posted around them telling people that they will be shot on sight without further warning is somewhat ludicrous. Using simple logic it's easy to determine that are obviously more facilities then we know about. Perhaps its foolish to say any specific number, but logically they exist....
However, couldn't it also be possible that some of these prisons are labeled prisons as a cover for military facilities or testing areas for new technology. When your no longer restricted by society, moral and ethics usually don't apply, which sadly enough does allow for greater scientific advances.... Although I don't doubt that the government does have many prisons that hold what most would consider innocent people... I still think it's more likely that these are facilities for testing and or military use.