rssInside Guantanamo Bay
Friday, March 27, 2009 at 11:55 am
- 3 Comments
As part of an upcoming inside look at the prison at Guantanamo Bay set to air April 5, National Geographic has put together some interesting behind-the-scenes interviews with the prison guards there. Not surprisingly, the guards — well aware of the camera they’re talking to — come off as extremely well-trained and sensitive to the needs of their prisoners, many of whom have been stuck in the prison without charge for up to seven years, and often for long periods in isolation.
While some of the guards may indeed be that sensitive, given the complaints of torture and brutality we’ve heard from former Guantanamo prisoners — and recent reports that the abuse has gotten worse — I’m skeptical that they’re all quite so thoughtful.
As Guantanamo detainee defense lawyer David Remes put it to me this morning: “Had National Geographic been to Abu Ghraib, you’d have had a similarly flattering portrait.”
Check out a clip from National Geographic after the jump.
3 Comments
Comment posted March 27, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
The only one who has said the brutality is worse is the lawyer for one of the Detainees. And he did not say it WAS worse, he planted the seed that it “Could Get Worse” and it wouldn't be hardto imagine. So please, stop with the froathing of false data and reporting it as news. The Detainees are treated well and have been for a long time. How do I know, because I worked in GTMO and have friends that work there and have been close to the people in charge of the Detainees so give me a break…
Comment posted March 30, 2009 @ 8:17 am
I also have served in GTMO, in addition to being a civilian law enforcement officer. (I'm a Reservist). Although it is certainly not any fun to be detained in GTMO (or anywhere, really), there are much stricter rules and procedures in place regarding Detainee treatment that there are for American prisoners in the civilian prison system. It is literally a crreer ending move, and possibly will land you in jail yourself, to mistreat a Detainee. I repeatedly saw officer safety being sacrifced to avoid even the appearance of mistreatment. I can't speak for the first year or two, but having served there last year all I can say is that it would be very difficult to assault, hurt, or otherwise abuse a detainee at GTMO in the current system. The media is VERY selective in what parts of stories they tell, and consistently try and make things look as bad as possible, even if that means reporting partial stories or using out of date information. Also, God forbid they should report any of the information that shopws US Forces in a good light….
Comment posted March 30, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
I also have served in GTMO, in addition to being a civilian law enforcement officer. (I'm a Reservist). Although it is certainly not any fun to be detained in GTMO (or anywhere, really), there are much stricter rules and procedures in place regarding Detainee treatment that there are for American prisoners in the civilian prison system. It is literally a crreer ending move, and possibly will land you in jail yourself, to mistreat a Detainee. I repeatedly saw officer safety being sacrifced to avoid even the appearance of mistreatment. I can't speak for the first year or two, but having served there last year all I can say is that it would be very difficult to assault, hurt, or otherwise abuse a detainee at GTMO in the current system. The media is VERY selective in what parts of stories they tell, and consistently try and make things look as bad as possible, even if that means reporting partial stories or using out of date information. Also, God forbid they should report any of the information that shopws US Forces in a good light….
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