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<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/lendman03092009.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/lendman03092009.html<br><br>
</a></font><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">March 9 ,
2009<br><br>
</font><h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>The Beat Goes On
<br><br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5 color="#990000">
Guantánamo Under Obama
</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By STEPHEN
LENDMAN <br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=6 color="#990000">A</font>
<font face="Verdana" size=2>s The New York Times reported on January 22,
Barack Obama signed Executive Orders (EOs) banning torture and
"directing the CIA to shut what remains of its network of secret
prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantanamo detention camp within
a year, government official said."<br><br>
The closure EO is titled: "Executive Order -- Review and Disposition
of Individuals Detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of
Detention Facilities."<br><br>
Sec. 3 reads: "Closure of Detention Facilities at Guantanamo. The
detention facilities at Guantanamo for individuals covered by this order
shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the
date of this order. If any individuals covered by this order remain, they
shall be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third
country, or transferred to another United States detention facility in a
manner consistent with law and the national security and foreign policy
interests of the United States."<br><br>
The EO also orders an "immediate review of all" detainees (by
the Secretary of Defense within 30 days), diplomatic efforts with other
governments relative to this order, halting all proceedings in the
"United States Court of Military Commission Review to which charges
have been referred but in which no judgment has been rendered," and
assuring that "humane standards of confinement" are observed in
accordance with international humanitarian laws, including Common Article
3 of the Geneva Conventions.<br><br>
It prohibits the following:<br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>-- "violence to life and person, in particular murder of all
kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;<br><br>
<dd>-- outrages of personal dignity, in particular humiliating and
degrading treatment;"<br><br>
<dd>-- carrying out sentences or executions "without previous
judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the
judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized
peoples;" and<br><br>
<dd>-- caring for the wounded and sick, including by an impartial body
like the ICRC "offer(ing) its services to the Parties to the
conflict."<br><br>
</dl>On February 23, the Center for Constitutional Rights published a
report titled: "Current Conditions of Confinement at Guantanamo -
Still in Violation of the Law." Below is a summary of its
findings.<br><br>
Guantanamo's existence and practices violate the letter and spirit of
international and US laws, including the Constitution's First, Fifth, and
Eighth Amendments. The latter two prohibit cruel and unusual punishment
and protect prisoners against treatment "that shocks the
conscience," such as unsafe conditions, denial of social or family
contact, and prolonged isolation. The First Amendment assures prisoners
are allowed religious texts and books and may observe their faith
freely.<br><br>
Yet for over seven years, 240 men have had no rights and remain under the
worst of "inhumane conditions." Most have never been charged
and are innocent. Many were seized for bounty, and few have been able to
challenge their detention in a habeas hearing, let alone get a fair trial
in a US court.<br><br>
Most are kept in supermax solitary confinement in Camps 5 and 6 or Camp
Echo. Treatment is harshly punitive and includes isolation, sensory and
sleep deprivation, brutal assaults, forced tube-feeding of hunger
strikers, and environmental manipulation that combined gravely impair
physical and psychological health and well-being.<br><br>
Despite Obama's EO, "conditions at Guantanamo have not
improved" and continue in violation of the law. Since it opened in
2002, CCR enlisted over 500 pro bono lawyers to represent hundreds of
detainees. This report is based on "direct accounts from (them) and
their attorneys," as recently as January and February 2009. The
results are deeply disturbing.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Current Guantanamo
Conditions<br><br>
</b></font>In a word, they're unchanged, outrageous, and illegal. Inmates
struggle for their sanity and say conditions are like living in a tomb.
The Pentagon and Obama administration deny it and describe isolation as
greater "privacy" and "single-occupancy cells."
Conditions, however, "speak for themselves."<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Solitary Confinement<br><br>
</b></font>
<dl>
<dd>-- inmates spend 20 or more hours daily "confined to small steel
and concrete cells (with) virtually no human contact or mental
stimulation;" <br><br>
<dd>-- they eat alone; <br><br>
<dd>-- discipline violations result in loss of "privileges"
like toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap and blankets that can be denied for
any reason or none at all;<br><br>
<dd>-- Camp 6 has no windows facing outside, and Camp 5 "has only a
thin opaque window slit in each cell;<br><br>
<dd>-- toilets are just holes;<br><br>
<dd>-- faucets are provided but no wash basins;<br><br>
<dd>-- Camp 5 lights burn 24 hours a day;<br><br>
<dd>-- "recreation" consists of two - four daily hours in an
outdoor cell; in Camp 6, it's in a pen surrounded by high mesh
wire-topped concrete walls blocking out most sunlight; in Camp 5, it's in
a "cage-like pen;" attempts to use "recreation" for
exercise result in immediate removal to their cells, at times forcefully;
some "recreation" is scheduled late at night, and if declined,
inmates stay isolated for days;<br><br>
<dd>-- the penalty for any infraction is 24-hour isolation;<br><br>
<dd>-- except for "the gloved hands of guards," practically no
human contact is allowed; and<br><br>
<dd>-- current conditions under Obama are no different than earlier and
in some respects are worse.<br><br>
</dl><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Sensory Deprivation and
Environmental Manipulation<br><br>
</b></font>Sensory over and under-stimulation is used as
follows:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>-- cell temperatures are too cold causing discomfort, health
problems, and mental stress;<br><br>
<dd>-- discipline is imposed on any inmate trying to block a/c
vents;<br><br>
<dd>-- one inmate described the combination of cold and 24-hour lights as
"indirect torture."<br><br>
</dl><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Sleep
Deprivation<br><br>
</b></font>Besides round-the-clock lights, guards routinely kick cell
doors and awaken prisoners as late as 2AM for "recreation." In
addition, bed sheets are called a privilege to be denied as a
disciplinary measure. <br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Physical Attacks by an
"Immediate Reaction Force (IRF)"<br><br>
</b></font>Inmates "live in constant fear of physical
violence," and anything or nothing may trigger it. Attacks are
frequent, violent and spontaneous. One example was as follows after a
minor provocation. Guards accused an inmate of attacking them. He did
not. They left him in a "recreation" cage as punishment. He
fell asleep on the floor, then was awakened by an IRF team in the dark.
They shackled and beat him, blocked his nose and mouth to create an
asphyxiation effect, hit him repeatedly in the ribs and head, and caused
serious injuries. Back in his cell, a guard urinated on his
head.<br><br>
Another inmate described painful forced feedings to hunger strikers,
constant IRF cell intrusions inflicting "cruelty, beatings and
bodily torture....the administration is giving the soldiers all the
authority to practice violence against us....we are in very bad
condition, suffering from aggression, beatings and IRF teams, as well as
the inability to sleep except for a few hours."<br><br>
After years of torture and deprivation, some prisoners want to die. In
the words of one: "I'm in despair right now and I don't know what to
do. I'm going crazy."<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Abuse of Psychologically Ill
Detainees<br><br>
</b></font>According to experts, the combination of torture, sensory
deprivation, and a state of constant fear and hopelessness "can
cause serious and potentially permanent psychological and physical
damage." The former include hallucinations, severe anxiety,
hostility, panic attacks, nightmares, confusion, loss of memory and
appetite, self-mutilations, profound depression, and suicidal
thoughts.<br><br>
Lawyers and others report these observations. Detainees say many times
they tried to harm or kill themselves. Instead of help, "detainees
have faced further abuse - gross mistreatment that exacerbates their pain
and suffering." Psychiatric visits are few and cursory, and when
inmates report problems they're placed in more restricted isolation and
punished.<br><br>
Attempted suicides are downplayed as "manipulative self-injurious
behavior." Torture is "enhanced interrogation." Medical
staff often are complicit. They impose unwanted care, verbally abuse
detainees, and often laugh at their pain. They deny information about
medical tests, existing diseases, what drugs are administered and their
risks. They ignore the brutalizing effects of mistreatment causing
serious physical and emotional harm as well as chronic weight loss,
rotted teeth, receded gums, renal pain, and a constant state of emotional
stress and ill health.<br><br>
Washington under Bush and Obama withholds inmate access to independent
medical help, leaving them exclusively in prison hands to continue
mistreatment or none at all. What happened to Muhammed Khan Tumani is
typical.<br><br>
Imprisoned at age 17, he's been at Guantanamo for a third of his life,
separated from his father who's also an inmate. The effect is
telling:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>-- signs of serious mental trauma;<br><br>
<dd>-- in December 2008, he cut multiple slashes across his inner arm and
a vein in his hand;<br><br>
<dd>-- nearby detainees report that he bangs his head against his cell
walls and smears them with his excrement;<br><br>
<dd>-- during a recent attorney visit, he was too anxious to concentrate
in spite of "his intense desire to challenge his
detention;"<br><br>
<dd>-- "in complete despair, he threatened to harm himself
again;" the same is true for many others;<br><br>
<dd>-- after cutting himself, Tumani was harshly disciplined; when he
failed to clean up his excrement, a ten-guard IRF team severely beat him;
sprayed him with tear gas or another noxious substance leaving his skin
red and burning days later; and stripped his cell of everything,
including a thin sleeping mat; instead of treating his psychotic state,
prison personnel beat and punished him.<br><br>
</dl><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Hunger Strikes and
Force-Feeding<br><br>
</b></font>As a result of continued mistreatment, torture, isolation, and
deprivation, detainee hunger strikes are common as their only way to
protest. The response is to restrain them in chairs, force tubes through
their noses and throats abrasively enough to draw blood, and pump food
into their stomachs - a procedure causing excruciating pain.<br><br>
Strikes began as early as February 2002, involving as many as 200 or more
prisoners at a time, and continuing on and off for months. Constant abuse
sparks them or just an individual act. <br><br>
Introduced in December 2005, "restraint chairs" are called
"padded cell on wheels" because they confine legs, arms,
shoulders, and head. A thickness of a finger tube is then forcibly
inserted up the nose to the stomach for as much as 1.5 liters of formula,
or more than a stomach can hold - causing severe pain, bloating, nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, and shortness of breath.<br><br>
No sedatives or anesthesia are given, and men are kept strapped in for an
hour to prevent purging. The procedure is generally repeated twice daily
with the same tubes, covered in blood and stomach bile, reportedly used
from one inmate to another with no proper sanitation. "The policy of
force-feeding with restraint chairs continues to this day under the Obama
administration." <br><br>
One inmate described the experience as "torture, torture,
torture." Another refusing force-feeding was beaten so badly he was
hospitalized on January 8, 2009 but failed to receive proper treatment
for multiple injuries.<br><br>
US Bureau of Prison regulations require that force-feeding be humane. The
World Medical Association, of which the AMA is part, states that
force-feeding violates medical ethics, and when accompanied by
"threats, coercion, force, and the use of physical restraints is
considered inhuman and degrading treatment." For inmates, it's
excruciating torture.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Religious Abuses<br><br>
</b></font>They include humiliation, the invasion of privacy, forced
nudity, preventing communal prayer, and allowing no Muslim
chaplain.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Forced Separation of Family
Members and Denial of Adequate Family Communications<br><br>
</b></font>Only recently has even "extraordinarily limited"
familial telephone access been allowed. For the first six years there was
none. Now at most one annual monitored call is permitted compared to
Federal Bureau of Prisons regulations requiring at least one a month, and
at the Florence, Colorado supermax facility, two a month is procedure.
For prisoners under special disciplinary measures, it's one every 90
days.<br><br>
In the few cases where two family members are detained together, total
separation with no communication is enforced, "causing further
trauma." In one such instance at Guantanamo, extreme pressure
continues to be exerted on a son to provide "evidence" against
his father.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Efforts to Whitewash Inhumane
Conditions<br><br>
</b></font>Like its predecessor, "the Obama administration to date
has continued (the same practice of) sanitiz(ing) the conditions for the
men detained in the most restrictive facilities (at Camps 5, 6 and
Echo)." Deception and deliberate lies suppress the daily
brutalization of inmates.<br><br>
Following Obama's EO to close Guantanamo, officials responded "by
instituting minor changes that fail to address the fundamental inhumanity
(and daily torment) of this facility." Nothing fundamentally has
changed. Nothing from the White House addresses it, and inmates
exhibiting the severest psychological trauma face even harsher
restrictive and punitive responses. "Inexplicably, their
psychological deterioration is presented as a failure to comply with camp
rules, rather than a medical issue (demanding) concern and
care."<br><br>
"The most psychologically vulnerable men in the prison are kept in
the most coercive and damaging (state) of confinement," further
exacerbating their condition. The more traumatized they get, the more
they're punished, and Guantanamo's military command has little interest
in investigating physical, psychological and religious abuses.
Mistreatment instead is whitewashed.<br><br>
Minor cosmetic changes have done nothing to relieve daily brutality and
suffering or the violation of US and international laws. So far, Obama's
EO is empty, meaningless, and fails to address similar practices at
secret Pentagon/CIA prisons globally, housing "ghost
detainees."<br><br>
Some are on "prison ships," addressed by this writer in July
2008 as follows:<br><br>
"....in 2005, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and
Counter-Terrorism took note. He spoke of 'very, very serious' allegations
that the US was secretly detaining terrorist suspects aboard special
ships at various locations around the world, notably in the Indian
Ocean.<br><br>
The UK legal action charity, Reprieve, believes up to 17 floating prisons
(were and likely still are) involved where detainees are held under
torturous conditions and subjected to harsh and brutal treatment, in some
cases worse than Guantanamo. Details have emerged from US administration
and military sources as well as the Council of Europe, various
parliamentary bodies, journalists, and former prisoner
testimonies.<br><br>
The USS Bataan is one ship mentioned, and a former Guantanamo detainee
described his treatment on board. About 50 in total were there. They were
closed off in the ship's bottom area and beaten more severely than at
Camp X-Ray. Reprieve's Director, Clive Stafford Smith, said: 'The US
administration chooses ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as
possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers. We will
eventually reunite these ghost prisoners with their human
rights.'<br><br>
'By its own admission (then and likely now), the US government (is
detaining up to) 26,000 people without trial in secret prisons, and
information suggests that around 80,000 have been 'through the system'
since 2001. The US government must show a commitment to rights and basic
humanity by immediately revealing who these people are, where they are,
and what has been done to them.' The Bush administration's response (at
the time was) silence." So far, it's no different under
Obama.<br><br>
On February 22, the UK Independent's Stephen Foley headlined: "Very
Bad News - Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base Will Be Obama's
Guantanamo." It's to undergo a $60 million expansion to hold 1100
more prisoners, above the 600 now there, and nearly five times the 240 at
Guantanamo. Other than occasional ICRC visits, human rights groups and
journalists are barred from a facility notorious for the worst of
mistreatment, according to the few former inmates released.<br><br>
Reprieve's Clive Stafford called the scheme "the Bagram bait and
switch....a diversionary tactic in the 'war on terror,' " a willful
case of hypocritical deceit to keep thousands of prisoners in illegal
black holes and brutalize them to the point of despair or death.
<br><br>
Executive director Tina Foster of the New York-based International
Justice Network warned that "leaving Bagram open (let alone tripling
its capacity) turns the closure of Guantanamo into essentially a hollow
and symbolic gesture." The status quo is unchanged. Bagram prisoners
"have been tortured to the point that they have died; it is a
rallying cry for those who oppose the US actions in Afghanistan (and a
travesty regarding) everything we (say we) stand for as a
country."<br><br>
The Obama administration's justification is that Bagram is a special case
in a war theatre. Unmentioned is that US and international laws allow no
"special cases" for illegal detentions or torture anywhere, at
any time, for any reason with no exceptions ever.<br><br>
CCR demands better. Prior to Guantanamo's closure, it wants camp
conditions improved, legal standards observed, and humane practices
restored as stipulated under Geneva, the Constitution, and all applicable
international human rights laws. This must be initiated "promptly
and thoroughly." Specifically, the following practices must be
implemented at Guantanamo and all other US run or supervised detention
facilities:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>-- solitary confinement must end, and at Guantanamo Camps 5, 6 and
Echo closed;<br><br>
<dd>-- religious freedom must be observed;<br><br>
<dd>-- all forms of IRF physical and psychological abuse must
cease;<br><br>
<dd>-- force-feeding must stop; forcible medications also;<br><br>
<dd>-- detainees must have immediate access to independent medical and
psychological professionals;<br><br>
<dd>-- illegal interrogations must be halted; and<br><br>
<dd>-- independent and international human rights observers must have
access to inmates.<br><br>
</dl>Above all, full and unequivocal US and international humanitarian
law observance is mandatory immediately. No deviations can be
tolerated.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">Human Rights Organizations
Reveal A Secret Pentagon/CIA Prison Network<br><br>
</b></font>CCR, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at
New York University School of Law, and Amnesty International (AI)
released documents revealing secret Pentagon/CIA black sites housing
"ghost detainees."<br><br>
Most of the material contained news articles. Much else was heavily
redacted, but reference was made to facilities in Iraq and an undisclosed
prison at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.<br><br>
A Pentagon "Information Paper" dealt with the
"Applicability of the Geneva Conventions to 'Ghost Detainees' in
Iraq," suggesting that DOD and CIA may conceal their identity if
"absolute military security" dictates to facilitate
intelligence collection and justify denying ICRC visits "for reasons
of imperative military necessity."<br><br>
Reference is made to "spies and saboteurs; persons who have
committed such acts (and have) forfeited the rights of
communication." A partly redacted email cites the "need to
definitely think about hold(ing) off (bad press by delaying inmate
releases) for 45 days or so until things cool down." CCR attorney
Gitanjali Gutierrez called it "astonishing that the government
(might delay) releasing men from Guantanamo (or elsewhere) to avoid bad
press." Obama vowed to close black sites. So far, his words are an
empty gesture.<br><br>
<font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">ACLU Report of US Prisoners
Tortured to Death<br><br>
</b></font>On February 11, the ACLU released previously classified
documents concerning "abusive" interrogation practices (to the
point of death) in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo. The report referred
to "clearly abusive (behavior), clearly not in keeping with any
approved interrogation policy or guidance." It noted instances of
"deaths follow(ing) interrogation sessions in which unauthorized
techniques were allegedly employed, but (in two cases cited) these
sessions were followed by further alleged abusive behavior outside of the
interrogation booth."<br><br>
Deaths took place in Iraq and Afghanistan:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>-- two at Bagram "determined to have been killed by pulmonary
embolism caused as a result of standing chained in place, sleep
deprivation and dozens of beatings by guards and possibly
interrogators;" other evidence reveals torture at Guantanamo and
American-Afghan prisons in Kabul;<br><br>
<dd>-- a homicide or involuntary manslaughter of detainee Dilar Dababa by
US forces in Iraq;<br><br>
<dd>-- torture and abuse at the US Special Operations Force Compound at
Mosul Airfield, Mosul, Iraq;<br><br>
<dd>-- torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib; and<br><br>
<dd>-- causing death to a detainee by asphyxiation.<br><br>
</dl>Torture was official policy under George Bush through numerous
"findings," Military and Executive Orders, memoranda, and memos
like the infamous March 14, 2003 "Torture Memo," written by
John Yoo, Alberto Gonzales (as White House counsel), Jay Bybee (now a
federal judge), and David Addington. It bypassed existing laws,
sanctioned all interrogation methods short of producing organ failure,
and legalized everything in the "war on terror," including
supreme presidential power.<br><br>
On January 22, Obama signed a series of Executive Orders, including the
banning of torture. The proof of the pudding is in the execution, and so
far very little is eivdence, including at Guantanamo where the worst of
abuses continue.<br><br>
Most important is accountability - prosecuting Bush administration
officials for crimes of war and against humanity, including the practice
of torture. CCR states:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"Evidence of the criminal activities of the Bush administration
is exceedingly well documented. It is apparent in (its) memos,"
various memoranda and other internal papers, "FOIA documents,
congressional hearings, court documents, the testimony of victims,
innumerable investigative news articles and books and direct admissions
by intelligence, military and administration officials."<br><br>
</dl>The evidence points right to the top, including the president,
vice-president, two defense and state secretaries, and heads of CIA among
others. Given volumes of damning evidence, "now is the time for
accountability (to) hold these officials (liable) for their (crimes) and
dissuade future government officials" from committing them again
knowing full well the consequences if they do.<br><br>
It's critical for the Obama administration to "reassert the rule of
law," affirm that no one is exempt, and set an example that
lawlessness no longer will be tolerated. Nothing less is
acceptable.<br><br>
Military officials like Major General Antonio Taguba and retired judge
and head of the Guantanamo military commissions, Susan Crawford,
acknowledged high official guilt. Taguba said:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current (Bush)
administration has committed war crimes. The only question....is whether
those who ordered the use of torture will be held to
account."<br><br>
</dl>The Convention Against Torture's Article 4 requires the Obama
administration to convene a criminal investigation to hold those
responsible accountable. Torture is prohibited under all circumstances,
at all times, with no exceptions allowed ever. Those in violation must be
investigated, tried, prosecuted and sentenced in accordance with the law.
Nothing short of full and meaningful justice is acceptable, and no
administration promising change can do less.<br><br>
Adds CCR president Michael Ratner:<br><br>
<dl>
<dd>"The only way to prevent this from happening again is to make
sure that those who were responsible for the torture program pay the
price for it. I don't see how we regain our moral stature by allowing
those who were intimately involved in the torture programs to simply walk
off the stage and lead lives where they were not held
accountable."<br><br>
</dl>Stephen Lendman</b> is a Research Associate of the Centre for
Research on Globalization. He lives in Chicago and can be reached at
<a href="mailto:lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net">
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net</a>.<br><br>
<br><br>
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