Pentagon Guantanamo ‘Fact’ Sheet Highlights High-Tops And Harry Potter, Distorts Real Issues
Pentagon Guantanamo ‘Fact’ Sheet Highlights High-Tops And Harry Potter, Distorts Real Issues
This week, the Department of Defense (DoD) released a document entitled “Ten Facts About Guantanamo.” The document contains relatively insignificant facts — all detainees receive a pair of “high-top sneakers” — and ignores the facility’s real problems.
Some other highlights:
4. Detainees receive medical, dental, psychiatric, and optometric care at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. In 2005, there were 35 teeth cleanings, 91 cavities filled, and 174 pairs of glasses issued.
9. Guantanamo is the most transparent detention facility in the history of warfare. The Joint Task Force has hosted more than 1,000 journalists from more than 40 countries.
Thirty-five teeth cleanings for approximately 500 detainees isn’t something to brag about. Point 4 also obscures the fact that several detainees have committeed suicide and the European Union has called on the Bush administration to close the camp.
Guantanamo Bay is anything but transparent. Media access to Guantanamo Bay has been severely restricted. Journalists “could not talk to detainees, they had to be accompanied by a military escort and their photos were censored.” In June, the military shut down media access entirely.
Point 8 initially quoted the mother of a Russian detainee saying how great Guatanamo Bay was: “Of course they wanted to stay there. … They had human rights and good living standards there. They had dentists and good meals — everything they wanted.” As the Wasington Post’s Al Kamen notes, “[T]his quote from a March 2004 edition of the London Times was a Russian mother comparing Guantanamo with Russian jails.” It has been removed from the current document available online.
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
61 Responses to “Pentagon Guantanamo ‘Fact’ Sheet Highlights High-Tops And Harry Potter, Distorts Real Issues”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
This is an insult to democracy this whole thing
Read this site for all the latest CagePrisoners.com
September 16th, 2006 at 12:11 pmOne out of 500 inmate families agree - Guantanamo is better than the Gulag!!!
September 16th, 2006 at 12:14 pmwow, free teeth cleaning included when you unwillingly submit to torture…
thats a great deal
September 16th, 2006 at 12:16 pmThis is nuts! They abuse these people, in the name of national security, and we foot the bill. Meanwhile we are the only Western nation without a national health care policy in place.
September 16th, 2006 at 12:17 pm5 Years in prison is enough for anybody OR 5 years in a secret US torture chamber is enough also
enough is enough release these poor souls .. If any are guilty then take them to trial in the open …stop covering up the atrocities have been commited on these guys ,
September 16th, 2006 at 12:18 pmi hate my country
im going abroad next year and i can already hear the bullshit im going to listen to when they find out im from america
September 16th, 2006 at 12:20 pmIm totaly ashamed of America in this case , I will never buy your products or go to America till this is sorted and Bush is in jail
which I wish you would hurry up so I can buy a real Pepsi and come to Disneyland with my Kids
September 16th, 2006 at 12:21 pmIf I was being kept prisoner there, I’d request Harry Potter, too. Then I’d crack the skull of the nearest guard with it. Might as well have a reason for being there…
September 16th, 2006 at 12:24 pmPentagon Guantanamo ‘Fact’ Sheet…Distorts Real Issues
oh really? …imagine that… whodduthunkit…
September 16th, 2006 at 12:26 pm…
i can’t wait to see any of those 10 facts in a troll talking point…
“but. but. they get high-tops!”
…
oh… just had a thought… teeth cleaning… anybody remember “marathon man”, dustin hoffman?… oooooh, sorry…
…
OT: There’s a brand new thread halfway down the page entitled, “Bill Kristol Declared a Manly Man.” Check it out.
September 16th, 2006 at 12:27 pmYeah, you get your free teeth cleaning but you’ll have to wait 15 years to get it.
Seriously seriously seriously, please check out Democracy Now!’s September 15th podcast/show (available from their website or iTunes music store - both are free). It goes into depth about torture and disappearances in the “war on terror” and it is horrifying.
September 16th, 2006 at 12:29 pmThe dental work and the optical work was made necessary by the beatings applied briskly about the head and shoulders. After all, it is not torture if you clean and patch a tooth or two after you have kicked them out or give a pair of glasses to a man after you have poked him in the eye with a sharp stick. Get your priorities straight.
Hosting 1000 journalists would make for one hell of a party and one hillacious bar bill to get hem all drunk enough that they forget to see the broken teeth and poked eyes.
Who do these stupid (forever it seems) fools think they are convincing, other than themselves?
September 16th, 2006 at 12:30 pmIf Bushes Bill gets through then this can happen to Anybody at Anytime …beware
September 16th, 2006 at 12:33 pm#7 Tobey Tall
You can’t visit Disney Land. It is being boycotted. Maybe after Bush is in jail it will be safe.
I am not ashamed of my Country but I apologize to you and the world for the clowns that claim to be running it. There are people in this Country that share our feelings and we are doing our best to correct the problem. please hang in there with us.
September 16th, 2006 at 12:36 pmThis is supposed to make us feel better about Gitmo? I don’t think so…
http://www.polibuzz.blogspot.com
September 16th, 2006 at 12:38 pmJohn McCain will be the “grand marshal” of a NASCAR race in New Hampshire on Sun.
Find out more at Political Buzz
http://www.polibuzz.blogspot.com
Good Morning Zooey and all, miserable mess we are in and I for one am ashamed of my country and the wacko’s running it..It would please me greatly to have all the elected whores in jail….Yep! I said all since there are many on both sides, the bad and the enabelers to them.
This prison stuff is disgraceful and just bring’s to mind how far we have gone backward’s with this bunch…Along that line since I am one of the 48.6 million with out any insurance what so ever, untill next month maybe I should have been arrested so all my health issues could be addresed. Damn this bunch in power…..The public is so brain dead, for the most part….Now if this bunch lower the gas prices the public will continue to vote for them..Stupid fool’s.
Still having trouble with this site…..Judd and crew, is there a chance it will be fixed soon.? Coulden’t get on the site for 3 hour’s again this morning….What’s up? This old woman with out patience after 5 week’s of problem’s would like to know……Blessings…..Peace
September 16th, 2006 at 12:39 pmtoby’s comment reminds me something randi said the other day… the reason W is so determined to get his tortchure -
September 16th, 2006 at 12:44 pm“he wants to be able to torture people because the next to get tortured will be YOU”
…i’ve no doubt…
The main reason bush want’s this torture thing to go through is because it will eliminate any prosacution of him and his evil bunch…Period..They want total and free reighn for the reich……Blessings
September 16th, 2006 at 12:51 pmGood morning Sharon,
Wise words as always. Maybe you could scroll down to the brand new Kristol thread, and give us the benefit of your wisdom on that thread, too? I don’t know why Nico’s hding that thread…
September 16th, 2006 at 12:51 pmWow - I can finally stop worrying about that then. Gosh, and here I was thinking Guantanamo was an illegal facility where people were being held without trial or even without specific charges…
Good thing they set me straight.
September 16th, 2006 at 12:52 pmTo thoes in goverment who ’stood by’ and let….bush ruin this country,your just a guilty as him. No different if I ‘do nothing’ when I see a drowning man and just stand there. I would be guilty of ‘doing nothing’.
September 16th, 2006 at 12:55 pmPoint 11 on the Folly Fact Sheet could have been:
“The President has the detainees (oops!) guests on his mind 24/7 - and is working frantically to pass new legislation allowing the torturing to be legal.”
There you go, a legal facility after all.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:00 pmZooey, scrolled every where and don’t know where else to look for the Nico thing you suggest……Nico is one of the writers here, right.? Remember it takes in excess of 5 min. now for my post’s to come up and sometimes as much as 15 to 30 min to see what you all have posted….Would love to read it, if I can find it…..Gonna run the Bear and put a cake in the oven and maybe the post’s will show up.. LOL…Blessings
September 16th, 2006 at 1:06 pmTreason on 9-11 did “change everything” for the traitors…
September 16th, 2006 at 1:11 pmCheers.
I didn’t realize Guantanamo was such a great place. Now, everybody will be fighting to get in!
September 16th, 2006 at 1:15 pmMedia access to Guantanamo Bay has been severely restricted.
That is the key sentence here.
The DoD document is merely a government printed propaganda paper, not to be taken for anything more than that.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:18 pmTeeth cleaning — (for the ones that haven’t been knocked out?)
High top sneakers — after years in captivity, the original sandals are surely in threads.
Perhaps the prisoners who have committed suicide or attempted suicide were sore merely losers at the intramural Gitmo basketball game?
Obviously, I am not impressed by this DoD drivel and neither should anyone else.
I’m gonna go on Orbitz right this minute and book a relaxing, fun-filled week at Club Gitmo. It’s the Western Hemisphere’s best kept vacation secret!!
September 16th, 2006 at 1:18 pmI just came upon one of the most amazing photographs to emerge from the war on terror. It’s not gory or tragic or anything like that but it goes to show the nerve, rock-solid competency and the talent that some of our soldiers and Guardsman have. Go check it out.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:23 pmSharon,
If you scroll down the TP main page you will find the thread between the post of Bush/Powell and Wolfowitz dated 15 September. It is a typical Neocon/Redneck/Chauvinistic post. Here is my comment in case you can’t find the post. You other ladies have torn them all a new asshole, Congratulations!
Good Morning Ladies,
It seems that everybody is having trouble getting their posts/comments to come up in a timely manner. This one did not come up as the date/time bar indicates.
For the record: Granny is five years younger, 10 inches shorter, 225 pounds lighter, and still the boss.
Other than the obvious physical and biological functions there are only philosophical differences between a woman and a man. In those situations where the obvious physical differences are key to the issue, shoveling coal or giving birth (actually I can’t think of a non-quantifying function unique to the male except enabling the giving of birth) it is permissible to compare the sexes. Any other comparison done on a philosophical level is meaningless and to draw a generalization from such a comparison is not only meaningless it is asinine and insulting to the intelligence of people who recognize their own worth.
Carry on ladies I am on your side!
September 16th, 2006 at 1:34 pmIf Bush gets that specific Bill passed it could be anyone at anytime - Banged up and tortured for life
seriosly look at this site it takes a moment or two to load the homepage but well worth a look at the photos of the inmates in Quantanamo and their arrest details…..also good for regular updates of whats exactly happening as there seems to be months go by and no news
http://www.cageprisoners.com/index.php
September 16th, 2006 at 1:36 pmUPI: Swedish elections
September 16th, 2006 at 1:42 pmFantastic, jurassicpork, absolutely fantastic!
September 16th, 2006 at 1:46 pmThanks for the support, Clyde.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:51 pmI have liked your posts from the start.
Digging Trench Around Baghdad?
16th of September 2006
by Jay Randal
It has been publicly announced that a trench is going to be dug around Baghdad, in Iraq, to protect the city from insurgents/terrorists, but trench warfare ended after WWI, so a relic idea from the past reused now?
Cities in the Middle Ages, in Europe, had fortification walls built around them, with a moat {”a deep, broad ditch dug around a fortress or castle, and often filled with water, for protection against invasion”} so will the Baghdad ditch be filled with water and crocodiles?
Perhaps Halliburton can build a new “Maginot Line” fortification around Baghdad, with gun emplacements and fortified underground bunkers for the defenders?
Or construct an “Atlantic Wall,” of cement reinforced bunker fortresses, like Adolf Hitler did at Normandy?
Or just fill the trench with crude oil and set it on fire?
It seems that the Pentagon, with Donald Rumsfeld at the helm, has gone stark raving insane, so no wonder the Iraq misadventure has turned into a uttter fiasco!
( Jay Randal, political activist and writer in Stone Mountain, Georgia.)
September 16th, 2006 at 1:52 pm13 September 2006
UK minister condemns Guantanamo
Lord Falconer has made his strongest attack yet on Guantanamo Bay by denouncing it as a “shocking affront to the principles of democracy”.
In his speech on Wednesday, Lord Falconer said: “It is a part of the acceptance of the rule of law that the courts will be able to exercise jurisdiction over the executive.
“Otherwise the conduct of the executive is not defined and restrained by law.
“It is because of that principle, that the USA, deliberately seeking to put the detainees beyond the reach of the law in Guantanamo Bay, is so shocking an affront to the principles of democracy.
“Without independent judicial control, we cannot give effect to the essential values of our society.”
September 16th, 2006 at 1:53 pmwell, between the annoyingly s l o w posting here, and the poorly performing ILLINI on my XM, i think it’s a sign that i need to be outside taking care of some gardening chores… great weather here in central IL…
September 16th, 2006 at 1:55 pmlater…
Propaganda is all they have.
Not once has this admin presented a document that shows any good. It is always onesided and aimed specifically at critics, and always questionable.
They think your’e stupid. Unfortunatley 50% of this country is, and they believe every word from these felons as the gospel truth.
Any dissent, well, you are an islamofacist nazi.
I want my country back. I want to look at a flag again and be proud.
Several years back, I had season tickets for our local hockey team. Every game had the national anthem played or sung. Every time I heard it, my eyes would well up with tears.
That, no longer occurs. In fact, it is now a piece of music I care to hear the least.
Go to Hell GWB.
September 16th, 2006 at 2:01 pmCorrection for post 34 > typo error > utter not uttter > lol.
September 16th, 2006 at 2:02 pmI’m sure that it’s totally legal for Bush to do what he does because his corrupt lawyers say it is. Right, Alberto?
September 16th, 2006 at 2:14 pmAmerica’s Least Wanted
Isn’t it becoming more clear than ever to the non-believers that Bush is desperate to have this measure passed because his own legal case is on shaky ground - he and his cabal can be charged with war crimes. It the Dems take part-control this November and full control of Congress in 2008, he and Cheney will be out of office, but they could be in deep trouble.
Look for them to pull out all the stops to take this election. Watch Bush try everything possible to stack the courts with more judges in his favor (he’s thinking ahead).
Propaganda pieces like this are more for their own defense than for anything else.
September 16th, 2006 at 2:26 pmNo one is persuaded.
The UN secretary general has said that most Middle East leaders regard the US-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath as a disaster for the region.
(from BBC news)
They’re saying it out loud now, folks.
September 16th, 2006 at 2:31 pm“Fact” number 9:
Guantanamo is the most transparent detention facility in the history of warfare.
It is important to note that while the Red Cross has access to prisoners in Guantanamo, this does not amount to transparancey:
September 16th, 2006 at 2:33 pmGood God!! I wonder what the archives reveal about the propaganda for concentration camps under Nazi control?
September 16th, 2006 at 3:02 pmGreat post’s Clyde, BnF and all,, I am growing impatient for the site to improve…The delay in my answereing other posters (no excuse here, fact) is not my choosing…..The article on the thread above came in at 11;15 Wash.State time….Have said before this is way past more trouble than it is worth….Later..Blessings…..P.S. Jurassic… Thank’s for the great link….Bravo to you and our forces.
September 16th, 2006 at 3:03 pmNice bit of propaganda, that.
September 16th, 2006 at 3:09 pmThe Bush Administration has blamed Clinton and Tenet for all the mistake even the invasion of Iraq. Now Harry Potters to blame. Does anyone in this Administration take responsiblity for anything. The American people and our troops deserve better much better then this group of liars.
September 16th, 2006 at 3:32 pmYep! And Guantanamo is NOT as bad as Azkaban! No Dementors to suck the soul out of you, no sirreee Bob!
There! Don’t you feel good about America now?
September 16th, 2006 at 3:34 pmI don’t care if this place is made of gold, human beings prefer due process and either punishment or a return to their families than living here indefinitely.
September 16th, 2006 at 3:38 pm#16 Sharon, I am also without insurance…
So I am quite sure they have novacaine, etc. in illegal/legal prisons in Gitmo. I am so SURE that wouldn’t possibly be another form of torture. I’m positive they are very gentle. I mean who DOESN’T love a good teeth-cleaning? The BuSh admin is so generous. Warms your heart, no?
September 16th, 2006 at 6:43 pmMedical, dental, and psychological care ………… FREE
September 16th, 2006 at 7:02 pmHarry Potter Book ……………………………………… FREE
Koran ………………………………………………………. FREE
Daily waterboard sessions …………………………. PRICELESS
There’s a reason why the Red Cross, Cresent, Lion needs open access to prison camps and prisoners because when you don’t allow this free access, you are probably hiding abuse. The red Cross doesn’t have free access at Guantanamo, ‘nuf said.
September 16th, 2006 at 8:57 pmnuf said, how bout our prisoners/hostages in iraq. nuf said, how bout our pow’s in vietnam. nuf said, you take the rest of em, their’s a lot.
Comment by Robroy — September 16, 2006 @ 9:07 pm
Humans tend to communicate using “language”, randomly hitting keys doesn’t communicate a message.
September 16th, 2006 at 10:02 pmWow billy…. answer the question
September 16th, 2006 at 11:14 pmWow billy…. answer the question
Comment by Robroy — September 16, 2006 @ 11:14
OK, you’re ignorant.
September 17th, 2006 at 7:14 amAfter 9/11, the US cast a big net to capture suspected terrorist from around the world. While I don’t claim to know how many at gitmo are guilty, I do know that you need legitimate trials to find out. After that, Robroy, you can shoot the guilty ones.
As for the torture that goes on at gitmo, there are many that say it undermines our country’s credibility, endangers the lives of our soldiers, and yields questionable intelligence. Even Colin Powell thinks so.
September 17th, 2006 at 10:23 amI agree prisoner treatment is a major area for concern, but I am afraid our problem, as Democrats, is that there has not been a foreign attack on domestic soil since 9-11. Until we can convince a majority of Americans that we have a plan for victory in Iraq, we will cede more power to Republicans, who currently seem better able to provide for our immediate security. Fellow Democrats, please let us abandon our ‘cut and run’ strategy and begin promoting victory as a viable option.
September 17th, 2006 at 3:42 pmInteresting reading about some of W’s pals in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Killing off the loose ends. Read it here; http://www.miami.com/ mld/ miamiherald/ news/ opinion/ 15466236.htm.
September 17th, 2006 at 4:39 pmHey lib’s, what exactly is YOUR plan other than silence on real issues (See Social Security) or beating up this administration?
Yea, just pull our of Iraq tomorrow. You want to see a real blood bath……?
Once in power, your buds will raise taxes on the ones creating REAL jobs and disperse it to the non productive. Sounds like a super, well thought out plan (by Karl Marx!) D’OH!!!
September 21st, 2006 at 5:59 pmAnyone actually been to Guantanamo or met a detainee?
October 20th, 2006 at 8:11 amNobody is being abused at Gitmo. These terrorists get three squares a day, time for prayer, a copy of the Koran, a prayer rug, a bed, medical care, clean clothes. This is what US prisoners in each prison in the US receive. Prisons in the US are violent places where people get killed or kill themselves quite often. Why is Bush to blame whan a prisoner decides to kill himself? These people are taught that killing yourself for your cause will bring you rewards in the afterlife. If you are determined to kill yourself, you will no matter what. Where is your concern for the conditions these guards put up with? they have been attacked time and time again & have had piss & feces thrown at them. The democrats attack Bush’s programs which have prevented attacks for over 5 years, they attack our interrogation techniques which have led to the gathering of intel that has prevented attacks, and has voted against a bill that gives captured terrorists more rights than any prisoners we have ever taken in battle before.
How are we supposed to get intel from these terrorists libs? You didn’t seem opposed to blaring loud music and shining lights on the David Koresh compound. Yet you have a major problem with sleep deprivation when used on people who want to kill us?
The democrats have no ideas on how to protect america and will eliminate the programs Bush has set in place that have WORKED to prevent more attacks. After they do this, and we get hit again, just watch and see how they try to blame Bush for it.
November 1st, 2006 at 4:19 pmTruthdetector,
November 6th, 2006 at 8:19 amThank you. The medical care there is actually very good for the detainees…better than for the active duty members down there. If there’s anyone that’s ever been “inside of the wire” at GTMO speak up. If you have ever put your hands in the mouth of someone trained to kill you, please speak up as well.