The Guantánamo Suicides

It was inevitable that sooner or later some of the detainees would succeed in killing themselves.  We don't know their names or the circumstances of their captivity at Guantánamo.  This is what we do know:

Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the commander of the detention camp at Guantánamo, told reporters in a news conference that the deaths were discovered early on Saturday when a guard noticed something out of the ordinary in a cell and found that a prisoner had hanged himself. Admiral Harris said guards and a medical team rushed in to try to save the inmate's life but were unsuccessful. Then, guards found two other detainees in nearby cells had hanged themselves as well; all were pronounced dead by a physician.

The suicides are the tragic outcome of the illegal and unconsitutional policy of the US government towards "enemy combatants".  Of course, the US military is spinning this act of despair as yet another clever ploy by crafty terrorists:

"They are smart, they are creative, they are committed," Admiral Harris said. "They have no regard for life, neither ours nor their own. I believe this was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us."

If this were the case, then the US should summarily execute the other 75 prisioners that have attempted suicide at Guantánamo, since tney are committing "acts of asymmetrical warfare".   Were these prisoners actually terrorists, or were they simply unlucky individuals such as Murat Kurnaz who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?  We will never know, since no charges were ever filed, no evidence was ever presented, they were denied a hearing before a court of law.

Given the secrecy surrounding these prisoners and their circmumstances, is it any wonder that the US government has zero credibility even with its own supposed allies?

Saudi-Arabien bezweifelt, dass die Häftlinge im US-Gefangenenlager Guantanamo tatsächlich Selbstmord begangen haben.

Der Sprecher des Innenministeriums, Generalmajor Mansur el Turki, äußerte am Sonntag in Riad den Verdacht, die Männer könnten gefoltert worden sein. Das Königreich werde sich bemühen, die sterbliche Überreste der beiden Saudis Jassir el Sahrani und Manea el Oteibi für die Beerdigung nach Saudi-Arabien zu bringen, erklärte er.

Comments

[chartaland]

Die US Regierung verhält sich so absolutistisch wie die europäische Könige vor der Revolution.