Hi Andy,

Thanks for bringing attention to an overlooked corner of the GWOT.

Diego Garcia seems ideally located to support operations around the Indian Ocean, particularly Afghanistan and Iraq. By its inaccessibility it is inherently resistant to oversight and investigation. Its personnel are drawn from many different home bases, and are hard to track or interview.

I believe that close comparison of satellite photos currently on Google Earth and older file photography available at Global Security and other sources will show some significant construction there since 2001. A number of those building sites seem very similar to prison camps or dormitory sites. One set of buildings seems interesting, due to its isolation from the rest of the base operations, and for the seemingly higher level of fencing and security surrounding it.

Other allegations have been made that various ships have been used as prisons or interrogation sites.

Perhaps by subtracting the known number of prisoners housed at various declared prisons, some estimation of those being held on Diego Garcia (or maximum capacity) can be made.

Although I have no special information regarding this, I believe that research and reporting might bring much important information to light.

I hope you are able to continue your investigations and achieve great success with this.

Good luck in your work.

Thanks, Jon. I believe your comments about the buildings visible in satellite photos is particularly significant.

Dear Andy,

As a regular reader of Counterpunch, I wish to express my appreciation to you for your paper on the Diego Garcia scandal. Like my fellow citizens here, we are all very concerned with what’s happening in the British capital and the struggle of the Chagos community who are by the way Mauritian citizens. We all know that we are fighting for a just cause although the battle seems difficult. Thanks to ambassadors like you, John Pilger and a few others, our voice is being heard across the world. If there is any way I can help you (example: sending you latest local news on this matter), do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks again for your solidarity,
on behalf of my fellow citizens and the Chagos People.

Fayaaz Lallmahomed
Mauritian Citizen

I wrote back to thank Fayaaz, and to accept the kind offer of receiving updates on the news from Mauritius.