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What will we do with the prisoners?
Published on June 11, 2006 By adnauseam In Current Events
As a non-American I would be interested to hear about your views on Guantanamo Bay after the suicide of 3 prisoners. The comments from Admiral Harris about "assymetrical" warfare worry me. Is he using politic-speak to explain away these deaths or is he not too concerned because this may be a protest to draw attention to their plight and motivate action from terrorist sympathisers? On the other hand is he ducking an issue that needs serious contemplation due to the World's reaction.

When I say that I ask you to consider a Sky News poll today where callers returned a 70 % vote for retaining Guantanamo. These are Brits, remember. Thus I would like the reaction from Americans too. Please, no vicious rhetoric or unqualified views---give us reasons for and against and let's keep it sensible.

As for my own view: I am concerned that these prisoners have no legal redress and the fact that they have not been tried. I believe that they should be tried in court, in the USA, or in their home countries. Vis-a-vis, if Iraq can try Saddam, then other countries can do the same!

Your comments please!

Comments
on Jun 11, 2006
I do agree that it's wrong to hold people in permanent "purgatory" without filing charges or giving them any indication of what their future may hold. Of course, I don't know exactly what's going on with Gitmo, and I suspect few people actually do, so I don't think I'm qualified to really offer a solid opinion one way or another.

I will say this, though...my husband worked in a US detention center during his last deployment, and I think the "asymmetrical warfare" comments could very well be valid commentary, based on the information my husband has shared with me about his personal experiences.
on Jun 11, 2006
No. It serves an extremely useful function as a secure facility for the detention and interrogation of those thought to possess information vital to national security. And closing it would make no difference - the facility would close, but the activities within it would be carried on elsewhere, because the motive for creating such a facility in the first place would not have changed.