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George W’s personal prison camp at Guantanamo Bay is not only a hell hole for the roughly 460 men who’ve been locked down there for four years – but it has now become an indelible, shameful, and spreading stain on our country’s fundamental morality… calling into question the very humanity of We The People.
You and I must no longer avert our eyes from what the Bushites are doing there, doing in our name. Gitmo – as this off-the-books dungeon is called – holds detainees from Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere who’ve been branded as terrorists by Bush & Gang, even though many of them (perhaps most) are not. Only 10 have even been charged with any crime, and all are deprived of any right to challenge their imprisonment. They are not allowed to see any evidence against them and are essentially denied access to lawyers. They also have been humiliated, abused, tormented, and tortured.
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Indeed, just being trapped in this netherworld of despair is torture – and when dozens have resorted to hunger strikes, your and my government has strapped them to metal “restraint chairs,” run a tube through their noses down their stomachs, and force fed them.
Dozens more have attempted to end their despair with suicide, and now, three have succeeded. In a shocking disassociation from humanity, one of our government’s top official called these three deaths a “PR move” by the prisoners. More perversely, the commander of Gitmo called the suicides “an act of asymmetrical warfare against us.” Even colder was the response of George W, the guy who created this dungeon of despair. He said he had “concerns” about the deaths. He was not appalled, outraged, or sorry – only concerned.
This is Jim Hightower saying… To the world Gitmo is no longer Bush’s prison – it’s yours and mine. To reassert our society’s humanity, let’s shut down Gitmo and reinstate the rule of law. To help go to: The Center for Constitutional Rights at www.ccr-ny.org.
Sources:
“State Department Disavows Statement On Suicides,” New York Times, June 13, 2006
“Three Prisoners Commit Suicide at Gitmo,” New York Times, June 11, 2006
“The Deaths at Gitmo,” New York Times, June 12, 2006