No Mo Gitmo?

The U.S. is building a new torture facility in Afghanistan and Bush hopes to close his gulag in Guantanamo. Although Bush denies that the new prison is being built to replace Guantanamo it would be politically expedient for him to do so.

The administration is looking to resolve the issue swiftly, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino told reporters Friday, although she said there's no deadline set.

"Everybody is working towards the goal to meet what the president has asked them to do, which is to do it as soon as possible," she said of shuttering the facility.

The United States, the land of the free and the home of the brave, has been torturing prisoners in Guantanamo for the past five years. Under George Bush the U.S. is now on the same level as North Korea and other countries who use government sanctioned extreme methods of coercion. It is hard for the U.S. to decry the human rights abuses of other countries when we act no better. It should be pointed out that the behavior of Bush, Cheney and those of that ilk are in no way a reflection on the vast majority of Americans. If you support the use of torture, you know who you are and the rest of us know what you are.

"America does not have any intention of being the world's jailer," Perino said. She noted that the United States has announced plans to release about 80 of some 375 detainees, and hopes to transfer several dozen Afghans back to Afghanistan in the near future.

This quote is from Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary. When Tony Snow is unavailable to lie for Bush, Dana is ready to step in.

Perino said Bush has directed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to work with her counterparts around the world to try to repatriate detainees to their home countries, make sure they are held safely and treated humanely and that they are not allowed to perpetrate acts of terrorism.

I think this is a good job for Condie, she hasn't actually done anything for years as the sad state of American foreign policy should attest. Sean McCormack of the State Dept. chimed in:

"I think that's the goal of everybody in the administration and probably most Americans — that we would rather not have to have a place like Guantanamo," he said. "But the fact remains that there are dangerous people out there that are being picked up on the battlefield that have vowed to return to the fight if released and individuals that have committed war crimes and should be held accountable for their actions."

I would think that Mr. McCormack should be careful about the term "war crimes" as that term probably applies to quite a few high ranking members of his own government. If a fighter is "picked up" on the battlefield wouldn't they be prisoners of war? Shouldn't we treat them as such? I know that we are dealing with inhuman monsters who kill our soldiers when they are captured, but do we have to sink to their level to defeat them?

Close the Guantanamo gulag. If you have no evidence against any prisoner, send him home. If they are dangerous prisoners put them on trial. What, you can't because we tortured them? Well, send them home anyway and let their own governments incarcerate them. After all, we aren't the world's jailer.

Jim Martin

Thanks to Newshoggers for the link.