Tomorrow, Guantanamo will have been opened for 10 years

My Guantánamo Nightmare

ON Wednesday, America’s detention camp at Guantánamo Bay will have been open for 10 years. For seven of them, I was held there without explanation or charge. During that time my daughters grew up without me. They were toddlers when I was imprisoned, and were never allowed to visit or speak to me by phone. Most of their letters were returned as “undeliverable,” and the few that I received were so thoroughly and thoughtlessly censored that their messages of love and support were lost.

Some American politicians say that people at Guantánamo are terrorists, but I have never been a terrorist. Had I been brought before a court when I was seized, my children’s lives would not have been torn apart, and my family would not have been thrown into poverty. It was only after the United States Supreme Court ordered the government to defend its actions before a federal judge that I was finally able to clear my name and be with them again.

I left Algeria in 1990 to work abroad. In 1997 my family and I moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina at the request of my employer, the Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates. I served in the Sarajevo office as director of humanitarian aid for children who had lost relatives to violence during the Balkan conflicts. In 1998, I became a Bosnian citizen. We had a good life, but all of that changed after 9/11.

Fact is, most people at Guantanamo are NOT terrorists and have never been terrorists nor will ever be.

According to Wiki :

Since October 7, 2001, when the current war in Afghanistan began, 775 detainees have been brought to Guantanamo. Of these, most have been released without charge or transferred to facilities in their home countries. The Department of Defense often referred to these prisoners as the "worst of the worst", but a 2003 memo by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says, "We need to stop populating Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) with low-level enemy combatants ... GTMO needs to serve as an [redacted] not a prison for Afghanistan."[23] As of January 2012, 171 detainees remain at Guantanamo.

The 3 convicted is total bull :

Three have been convicted by military court of various charges:

David Hicks was found guilty under retrospective legislation introduced in 2006 of providing material support for terrorism in 2001.[24][25]

Retrospective legislation? Unconstitutional.

Salim Hamdan accepted a position on Osama bin Laden's personal staff as a chauffeur.[26

Gee a chauffeur! What a terrorist! No chauffeur of any dictator has ever gone to jail for being the chauffeur.

Ali al-Bahlul made a video celebrating the attack on the USS Cole (DDG-67).

So what? No criminal act has been committed... if they arrested him and convicted him, what about the Israelis who were caught filming 9/11 live and cheered while it happened?

All this is total BULL and I'm not even talking about the active TORTURE that has been going on there, and not just water-boarding, but rape and other sick stuff.

Kids sodomized at Abu Ghraib, Pentagon has the videos - Hersh

Testimony from prisoners at Abu Graib.

This ain't just happening at Abu Grahib, bet on it.

And it's still happening RIGHT NOW... and 99% of these people are INNOCENT.

If you vote for any politician supporting this crap, you are PERSONALLY SUPPORTING IT.

It is saddening that the USA does this.

Everyone knows that torture is evil.
Even the ones that would condone it, for practical reasons during war time, know that it has a very short window of usefulness, less than 24 hours.

Torture for more than 24 hours is useless as a source of information, because the information has changed.

Torture for more than 24 hours can only be considered as an effort to brain-wash the suspects.

It is all very illegal under any international law.

The USA once was in a better state, I can only hope they find their way back into normality and good moral.

These places are planted all over the world, why they didn't just shut down Guantanamo for good PR and resumed at all the other places shows our leaders don't give a damn what we think. An airport just a few miles from me is used routinely as a place to land and refuel before going to these places, kind of an open secret.

makes me wonder what blacksite was in operation before Guantanamo, that is still a secret to the public.

Guantanamo by the Numbers

That we allowed this is part of the reason why so many will feel less sympathy for us when it's our turn.

reply to post by Vitchilo


I knew it was bad, but those number really put things in to perspective. I am embarrassed for my country, yet I am still told I should have pride in my country?

reply to post by calstorm


You should be proud of the real patriots in your country. People like Ron Paul or Judge Napolitano for example who tell it like it is.