'Crazy
Bastards': Imprisonment Without Trial ... and Without End (SueddeutscheZeitung, Germany)
"When prisoners took their lives there,
one general called it part of the 'war against us.' Right-wing Senator Lindsey
Graham recently said that the Guantanamo inmates are 'crazy bastards' - so
dangerous that they should never be moved to the mainland. ... The injustice is not Guantanamo itself, but the concept of imprisonment without trial - and without end. In nations with the rule of law, even those considered 'crazy bastards' are entitled to trial."
Behind the wire fencing, where despair
begins, the rule of law ends. The prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are on hunger
strike. They have nothing to lose. President Obama must honor his campaign
pledge and close the camp. There have already been plenty of opportunities.
Washington: For
many Americans, the prisoners in Guantanamo are more like hazardous materials than
people. When prisoners took their lives there, one general called it part of
the “war against us.” Right-wing Senator Lindsey Graham recently said that the
inmates are “crazy bastards” - so dangerous that they should never be moved to
the mainland.
Of the 166 prisoners, 100 are now on a hunger strike, and
many are being force-fed. According to Graham’s theory, this could only be an
act of war or madness (which, one wonders?). More likely, it is an expression
of despair by people with nothing left to lose.
Uncertain future
Recently, the military added a program that
includes amenities for prisoners called “intellectual stimulation,” such as
puzzle games or television. The name of the program says it all, however: terror
suspects have brains and clearly understand that their situation is hopeless.
They have been imprisoned for a decade, cannot hope for a trial and don't even
know how much longer they'll be locked up; 30 years ... or 40?
President Barack Obama wanted not only to end America’s wars, but to extract his country from the sphere of human rights deprivation created
by his predecessor after September 11, 2001. Because Congress forbade the
transfer of the detainees to the mainland to face civil trial, Obama turned to
other things. However, the hunger strike has reminded us of the fact that Guantanamo
taints not only America’s reputation, but also his own.
The president’s
excuses
The president shouldn't use Congress' obstinacy as an
excuse. He should use his authority to gradually empty the camp. While Obama may not transfer any prisoners to U.S. soil, he could send dozens of prisoners who have
long been considered harmless home to Yemen. Moreover, the commander-in-chief
could reassess the status of dozens of prisoners, allow a number of them to
return to their homelands, and bring the rest before a military tribunal.
Obama has always been politically defined by the fact that
he appeared particularly committed to human dignity; that he defends the poor,
the sick, and minorities; and that he respects Muslims around the world. Now a shadow has been cast, not only by his intemperate use of drone warfare and
hesitation over the bloody Syria conflict, but also his lack of interest in
Guantanamo.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
The Guantanamo prisoners are considered “enemy combatants.” Soon,
when the last U.S. troops return from Afghanistan and America is no longer
waging war, this status will have to be considered even less justified than it is. The injustice is not Guantanamo itself, but the concept of
imprisonment without trial - and without end. In nations with the rule of law, even those considered
"crazy bastards" are entitled to trial.
