"We're in unexplored territory..."

[Guest bengalrick]

[url="http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-06-16-oppose_x.htm"]usatoday.com[/url]
[quote][b]Policies already transparent[/b]
By Donald Rumsfeld



Arguably, no detention facility in the history of warfare has been more transparent and received more scrutiny than Guantanamo. There have been numerous visits from members of the news media, congressional representatives and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

[b]Last year, the Department of Defense declassified highly sensitive memorandums on interrogation techniques. Unfortunately, they were documents that are useful to terrorist operatives, but we posted them on the Internet specifically to set the record straight about U.S. policies and practices.[/b]

The latest calls for Guantanamo's closure were prompted by a series of news accounts about alleged mistreatment of the Koran. America has gone to unprecedented lengths to respect our enemies' religious sensibilities — including detailed regulations governing the handling of the Koran and broadcasting the five daily calls to prayer required by the Muslim faith over loudspeakers.

[b]Allegations of abuse at Guantanamo — and any other U.S. military facility — that violate direct orders to treat detainees humanely have been vigorously investigated and the perpetrators punished. It also must be remembered that we know with certainty that al-Qaeda members are trained — and a training manual has been obtained — to allege abuse and mistreatment while in custody.[/b]

[b]Our goal as a country is to detain as few people as is possible and is safe. We prefer to return them to their countries of origin if the country is capable and willing to manage them in an appropriate and humane way.[/b]

As the president has said, we are always looking for ways to improve our procedures. And of course we have been looking for better suggestions as to how to manage detainees who pose a lethal threat to the civilized world, and we have already implemented dozens of reforms.

[b]The real problem is not Guantanamo Bay. The problem is that, to a large extent, we are in unexplored territory with this unconventional and complex struggle against extremism. Traditional doctrines covering criminals and military prisoners do not apply well enough.[/b]

It is important to remember that the purpose of detaining these enemy combatants is not to punish them for committing a crime, but to gain intelligence about terrorist operations and to prevent them from attacking again. We have gained intelligence at Guantanamo that have stopped terror attacks and saved American lives.

Donald Rumsfeld is the secretary of Defense.


  [b] [i]ABOUT GUANTANAMO BAY   [/i][/b]
Started operations: Jan. 11, 2002.
Current detainees: 520, from more than 40 countries.

Detainees released: 234.

Number of those released who returned to terrorism (estimate): 12.

Identities: Pentagon won't release names, citing privacy and security concerns.

Building cost: More than $100 million.

Annual operational costs: $90 million to $95 million.

Oversight: International Committee of the Red Cross has continuous access.

Legal rights: Supreme Court ruled in June 2004 that detainees can contest their detention. Pentagon has reviewed the illegal-combatant status of all detainees and granted them access to private lawyers.





Source: Department of Defense[/quote]

i want to add that the geneva convention is a great document for a point of reference, but we are in a different time... and the time we drafted it, we were around WWII, and fighting an enemy that did have an army, and were also required to follow the geneva convention... we need to have a seperate document for the updated version of war... there needs to be guidelines for urban warfare and holding enemy combatants or like i like to call them, terrorists...

i am NOT talking about allowing torture, but i do think that we need to be able to interregate these guys, and i don't see anything wrong w/ the things that were described as "gulag-like" by dick derbin... we need to have the rules set out, and agreed upon by the international community... b/c lets face it, it may be a weak arguement to a point, but these fuckers do not fall under the requirements of the geneva convention, but we need to follow close to it, until we get some new laws out there...

i couldn't agree more though, w/ donald rumsfeld that we are in uncharted territory... that is why there is so much uncertainty and polarization right now... but that just means taht it will be hard, not impossible... you may hate rummie, but he says it how it is... noone else is speaking so bluntly about the war right now (on the bush administration...)

[Storm]

I'm for torture of all kinds!

I'm talking testicle electrocution, fingernail removal, chopping off digits, heads, genitals, whatever it takes!

Nice guys finish last