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The Marine commander who built the Guantanamo Bay prison said Thursday the U.S. lost the "moral high ground" with its brutal treatment of prisoners, and the facility should be closed as quickly as possible.
"I think it is extraordinarily important how we treat prisoners," he said. "Obviously, there were other views."
The general said he didn't feel the U.S. would get much useful information by using the techniques.
Lehnert now oversees seven West Coast Marine bases. He retires Tuesday.
Originally posted by KSPigpen
reply to post by Icarus Rising
Where was this pertinent opinion when he had something to lose?
Originally posted by RRconservative
What brutal treatment is he talking about? Cigar smoke blown in the faces of terrorists? I wonder since Club Gitmo is in Cuba if our brave troops have access to Cuban cigars?
"The general didn't feel the US wouldn't get any information by using such techniques.?" I wonder how he feels about being WRONG?
There's one in every bunch I guess?
from the article
"I wanted to run it close to Geneva Convention rules," Lehnert said. "Our job was to take them out of the fight, and once we had done that, I felt we had a moral responsibility to take care of them."
However, another task force was put in charge of interrogating detainees, and there were disagreements over their treatment, Lehnert said.
"I came to the conclusion very soon that this probably wasn't the right way to go," said Lehnert, who served just 100 days at the base.
It was the first time Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert publicly acknowledged his doubts, although he said he did make his concerns known through the appropriate chain of command.
Originally posted by Walkswithfish
He is absolutely wrong!
The U.S. lost its moral high ground years ago in an Iraqi prison.
What happened in Cuba doesn't even come close to the abuses inflicted on prisoners in Iraq at the hands of US military personnel who were allegedly acting under orders.
If we ever had any "moral high ground" to begin with.