Comments on: An interview with Andy Worthington, author of “The Guantánamo Files” http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/03/07/an-interview-with-andy-worthington-author-of-the-guantanamo-files/ Investigative journalist, author, filmmaker and Guantanamo expert Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:40:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: doc http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/03/07/an-interview-with-andy-worthington-author-of-the-guantanamo-files/comment-page-1/#comment-36646 doc Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:31:47 +0000 http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/?p=1573#comment-36646 Were any of the prisoners in Guantanamo journalists? Were any of the prisoners in Guantanamo journalists?

]]> By: Frances Madeson http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/03/07/an-interview-with-andy-worthington-author-of-the-guantanamo-files/comment-page-1/#comment-33001 Frances Madeson Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:05:39 +0000 http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/?p=1573#comment-33001 Hear, hear. Beautifully said, sir. Hear, hear. Beautifully said, sir.

]]> By: the talking dog http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2009/03/07/an-interview-with-andy-worthington-author-of-the-guantanamo-files/comment-page-1/#comment-33000 the talking dog Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:30:20 +0000 http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/?p=1573#comment-33000 <i>It’s not an exact science, of course, but to this day I remain proud of the fact that I not only attempted to give a voice to the voiceless, but also to make sense of the bigger picture, which involved challenging the government’s assertions. I know that it was a difficult task to undertake, but I remain disturbed by the fact that I was able to undertake this as a solitary independent journalist, and that no major media outlet devoted the required resources to investigating thoroughly the material that was made publicly available. By abdicating responsibility, they effectively allowed the administration’s claims to go unchallenged.</i> Well said, Andy. While there have been admirable exceptions (Carol Rosenberg of the <i>Miami Herald</i> comes to mind), and the <i>Washington Post</i> and <i>New York Times</i> have paid attention to some aspects of the story, especially as "news" would emerge from Supreme Court cases or for other reasons, the day to day, painstaking investigation of material actually disclosed by the Government has just been left on the table; similarly, I have found that some of the most significant figures in the story have also been almost entirely or entirely ignored by "proper" journalism and journalists (and hence, usually fertile ground for "citizen journalism"). In a way, this story is almost the paradigm of our time: the Government tells us something that to anyone with any level of sophistication should seem preposterous on its face (e.g., if these men are really "the worst of the worst," (1) why are we releasing so many, (2) why are we charging so few, (3) why is the military handing out almost no jail time to the tiny number actually "convicted", (4) why haven't those allegedly responsible for 9-11 been brought to the dock, etc.). And yet, amidst a deafening media silence (or a stenographic media uncritically repeating official proclamations)... nothing is questioned, certainly not in "polite company". Just as no one questioned Bernard Madoff, or "credit default swaps," or AAA sub-prime mortgages, or tax cuts for wealthy people that led to pile-ons of trillions in dollars in debt or any of the other "faith based initiatives" of our time. Somehow, no one is critical of anything anymore to the point of actually rolling up their sleeves and doing the boring gruntwork of <i>figuring out what the hell is really happening</i>. Thank you, Andy. On behalf of the entire "reality based community" for your yeoman's efforts at keeping it real. It’s not an exact science, of course, but to this day I remain proud of the fact that I not only attempted to give a voice to the voiceless, but also to make sense of the bigger picture, which involved challenging the government’s assertions. I know that it was a difficult task to undertake, but I remain disturbed by the fact that I was able to undertake this as a solitary independent journalist, and that no major media outlet devoted the required resources to investigating thoroughly the material that was made publicly available. By abdicating responsibility, they effectively allowed the administration’s claims to go unchallenged.

Well said, Andy. While there have been admirable exceptions (Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald comes to mind), and the Washington Post and New York Times have paid attention to some aspects of the story, especially as “news” would emerge from Supreme Court cases or for other reasons, the day to day, painstaking investigation of material actually disclosed by the Government has just been left on the table; similarly, I have found that some of the most significant figures in the story have also been almost entirely or entirely ignored by “proper” journalism and journalists (and hence, usually fertile ground for “citizen journalism”).

In a way, this story is almost the paradigm of our time: the Government tells us something that to anyone with any level of sophistication should seem preposterous on its face (e.g., if these men are really “the worst of the worst,” (1) why are we releasing so many, (2) why are we charging so few, (3) why is the military handing out almost no jail time to the tiny number actually “convicted”, (4) why haven’t those allegedly responsible for 9-11 been brought to the dock, etc.). And yet, amidst a deafening media silence (or a stenographic media uncritically repeating official proclamations)… nothing is questioned, certainly not in “polite company”. Just as no one questioned Bernard Madoff, or “credit default swaps,” or AAA sub-prime mortgages, or tax cuts for wealthy people that led to pile-ons of trillions in dollars in debt or any of the other “faith based initiatives” of our time. Somehow, no one is critical of anything anymore to the point of actually rolling up their sleeves and doing the boring gruntwork of figuring out what the hell is really happening.

Thank you, Andy. On behalf of the entire “reality based community” for your yeoman’s efforts at keeping it real.

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