Dahlia’s got a great piece up in Slate on Bush’s statement in Europe stating that his goal is to close the Gitmo facility and get people there to trial, whether in civilian or military courts. For those of us who have not been following Gitmo sufficiently closely, Dahlia reveals quite archly that the pattern of releases from Gitmo has its own subtle logic:
[T]he unofficial administration policy of quietly releasing dozens of former prisoners without charges, comment, or explanation seems to be working just fine. The Pentagon has raised the possibility of another mass release of 140 prisoners who can no longer be classified as “enemy combatants.” That would leave only about 350 remaining on the base. Approximately 250 detainees have been released since the camp was re-established in 2002. At this release rate, Guantanamo might be totally empty by 2042, without the government ever admitting a mistake. These silent mass releases do suggest that Donald Rumsfeld’s famous 2002 claim, that the then-760 prisoners at Guantanamo were “the worst of the worst,” was something of an overstatement. They were probably closer to “the best of the worst,” or as I’ve suggested, “the least lucky of the middling.”
There is much about Gitmo I find troubling. This rate of release, however, signals something much more deeply pathological–namely, a screening process whose accuracy seems, at least at first blush, no better than many all star batting averages.
Posted by Administrators on May 10, 2006 at 04:32 PM
Comments
This is looking like a great M.O.: (1) allow torture (in part by disallowing army lawyer observers) at Abu Ghraib and then declare that the place is being closed down due to the problems; and (2) deny due process and basic human rights at Guantanamo and then declare that the place is being closed down. Basically, this works great: you can violate any laws or norms yuo want, and then by the time the world or the law catches up to you, just close the place down. This, incidentally, is how employers who operate illegal sweatshops work: (1) open up sweatshop; (2) get caught; (3) deny knowledge of illegalities; (4) shut down sweatshop; (5) repeat step #1…
Posted by: Scott Moss | May 10, 2006 5:19:02 PM