Comments on: Guantánamo Recidivism: Mainstream Media Parrot Pentagon Propaganda (Again)

By: Andy Worthington Interviewed by Sibel Edmonds and Peter B. Collins « Dandelion Salad

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:22:50 +0000

[...] of the prisoners to survive their horrendous ordeal without, as the Pentagon regularly alleges in unsubstantiated propaganda, taking up arms against their former oppressors on their [...]

By: persnipoles

persnipoles — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:43:24 +0000

It’s as if the 20% figure was the message, then 9.6 and 10.4 were chosen to keep it round… Surprising that these ‘estimates’ are increasing over time in contrast to e.g. 1991 story breaks: Saddam 6 Months from Nuclear Weapon, then the time estimate gos UP to 5yrs -apparently as real journalists went to work.

By: Happy 8th Birthday Gitmo: an interview with watchdog Andy Worthington « Pluto Press – Independent Progressive Publishing

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:36:09 +0000

[...] in terrorist activities. You wrote a number of articles about these topics (see here, here and here, and also discussed them on Democracy Now! on Friday, and I was hoping in this interview to follow [...]

By: Appeals Court Extends President’s Wartime Powers, Limits Guantánamo Prisoners’ Rights by Andy Worthington « Dandelion Salad

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:23:25 +0000

[...] layer of uncertainty to the prisoners’ future, in a week that was notorious for a barrage of lies and misinformation, and a promise by President Obama that he was freezing the release of all Yemeni [...]

By: Appeals Court Extends President’s Wartime Powers, Limits Guantánamo Prisoners’ Rights « freedetainees.org

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:28:56 +0000

By: Diana 1976

Diana 1976 — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:21:24 +0000

I think it’s an important point that the experience in Guantanamo would be enough to turn a person into a terrorist even if he were not one to begin with. No case better illustrates that than the Canadian, Omar Khadr, captured in Afghanistan at age 15 having been raised by his father primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in an environment that virtually guaranteed an Al Quaeda involvement of some kind, and held for over seven years in Guantanamo.

But what then should the government do with terrorists that it has, in effect, produced, either wholly or in part, itself?

To my mind it is impossible to release them for security reasons but it’s clear that they deserve to held in the most humane conditions possible. While they don’t technically meet the definition of prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions, that is exactly how they should be treated. The rules for treatment of prisoners of war as described in the Conventions are based on the idea that they will be treated in the best manner possible, in every way, short of being released until the war is over. In this case that has to mean until or unless the individual has certainly no intention and no reason to rejoin a terrorist cause and that may well mean indefinitely, although I would think release with close surveillance and security measures could be possible for some.

This is why it’s so ironic that, with the reforms instituted, Guantanamo may well be a better environment for detainees than a US prison. And so. for all his promise of ensuring American security while applying values such as respect for human rights and basic justice, Obama is doing these people no favours. This is because he has not addressed the mind set that has effectively dehumanized these people and he will blocked at every turn until he does.

Dehumanization results from lumping people together within some feared or despised category with no regard for their individual story, circumstances or humanity. That’s what’s happened with the detainees. Obama will never get anywhere trying to apply human rights principles to them because in the minds of much of the public they simply are not humans but some evil sub-species. Surely Obama knows this, but does he care? Can he even afford to care or does it matter if he cares? Can he do anything about it anyway?

By: The Liberty Voice » Web-Only Content » “On Democracy Now! Andy Worthington Discusses Guantánamo, Yemen, Lies, Hysteria and the False Recidivism Report”

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:14:35 +0000

[...] to Critics and Suspends Prisoner Transfers, Yemenis in Guantánamo are Victims of Hysteria and Guantánamo Recidivism: Mainstream Media Parrot Pentagon Propaganda (Again) — but was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss them with Amy and Juan, as they [...]

By: On Democracy Now! Andy Worthington Discusses Guantánamo, Yemen, Lies, Hysteria and the False Recidivism Report « Dandelion Salad

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:54:11 +0000

By: Andy Worthington

Andy Worthington — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:46:05 +0000

And another wrote:

It’s possible that some of that 14% were first time terrorists, not recidivist (what an odd term for it) recruited BY their experiences in Guantanamo.

By: Andy Worthington

Andy Worthington — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:45:34 +0000

Another anonymous reader wrote:

Even if it is propaganda, 14% is a very low figure considering the torture and abuse we put them through, and the fact that for people suffering from alcoholism, drug abuse, sex additions, and over all destructive behavior only have a 5% chance of recovery no matter what form of detox or rehab they go through.