Why do we still have prisoners at Gitmo?

Question

They've been there 4 years now. Most of them weren't hard core soldiers all gung-ho on killing Americans. Most were just footboys who joined the army for a paycheck. Wouldn't it have been better to show them how great and noble a country we are instead of treating them like dogs? Wouldn't it have been great if they could have written their families and said how fantastic America is and how wrong the terrorists are? Instead, we've seemed to have justified their potential hatred.

I say that they were 'footboys' because my brother helped capture some of them. And just like in the Gulf War, most were eager to surrender.

My brother didn't enlist so that he could kill Iraqi's. He joined because like so many other young men, it offered an oportunity to better himself through discipline and service. Were he captured, detaining him for four years would be riduclous.

And for those comparing them to prisoners, prisoners have been tried and convicted of crimes. I quess I should have said "detainees".

Answer 1

I haven't seen a whole lot of information released about the prisoners being held in Gitmo. I don't subscribe to your assumptions about the people that are being held there. I think we don't really know who they are or what their involvment with terrorism actually is. The government might know but I haven't seen any information released.

I'm also not convinced that if we released them all they would have written home and told their relatives how great America is. The 'greatness' of America and the Western world is a significant part of the problem for Islamic Extremists.

Your statement is, in my opinion, naive. You assume that everyone is like you. That everyone holds the same values that you do.

Answer 2

There are a lot of very dangerous prisoners at Guantanemo. The liberal press acts as if these are just hapless young kids who were summarily rounded up, dropped off at Gitmo, and left to rot.

The truth is, some of these people were key players in the terrorism game, and if they returned, they could wreak havoc. A lot of the progress we've made in the war on terrorism would be ruined.

These are not a bunch of innocents; a lot of these people are treacherous and extremely dangerous. Some of them have still refused to even give their names!

Here's an answer I gave to a previous question about terrorists:

I have this dream....

We catch some Al-Qaeda terrorists and decide to show them how completely wrong they are.

We shave off their beards, make them bathe regularly, and use deodorant. Then we have them sit in a class, like schoolchildren. Five days a week, for seven hours a day, they must listen to lectures, and watch them films which chronicle the rise of Western civilization over the centuries.

They have to take tests to show they understand the material.

We bring in women of all sorts of professions: doctors, lawyers, scientists, politicians, models and actresses. Maybe a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader or two. This should drive home the point that women have a lot to contribute to society, and should not be entombed in a stifling burka and kept in subservience.

Their school lessons should highlight the great disparity in the level of culture and sophistication between the West and the Muslim countries. It's alright if they feel embarrassed by the stark contrast; education isn't just about memorizing facts that someone throws at you. Education is supposed to broaden your perspective and give you new ideas to think about.

Psychology experts can determine which ones have truly been enlightened. The government should produce a video, letting these (former) Al-Qaeda men explain to their own people how mislead they have been, and how they can now see a better way of life.

Then, beam the video via satellite to countries where Al-Qaeda is strong and let the people decide for themselves.

Silly? Impractical? Yes, of course. As I said, it's just a beautiful dream.

Answer 3

i am still trying to figure it out myself.We the people have never been told what all of them did .They were rounded up after 9-11 shipped to gitmo and have been there sinse.
Several of them had familys who told the press they had done nothing wrong business men and workers with stable jobs and they must have been arrested by accident.
We never hear about them where some of them innocent -infact what were they charged with .IF they are war criminals they need a trial
If they are prisoners of war the war is over .I saw gwb on the deck of an air-craft -carrier declaring victory !, so what gives here.
The U.N. has asked for there to be an investigation into how they are treated and want to see the prisoners (hostages is a better word )no trials no charges no nothing just people who somehow got linked to the terrorists 9 of which are thought to be alive--how good is the evidence to hold them then . So we need to get some answers .
people are trying and so are governments but the united states is un-willing to listen to anyone at this point people in our own government have tried and the administration refuse to listen to reasonable requests so the hostages are stuck and all of america is to blame when can we have a march like the mexicans and get some attention .
With so much going on i think gwb thinks we will forget about them . HIM and everyone involved should be arrested and held with no charges and no court date on a ship in international waters and then turn them over to the international maritime court for disposition to the international courts for trial just as they have done with other war criminals in the past.
See how the world court would handle the situation.

Answer 4

Because Bush doesn't care about law, or the Constitution.He is a Fascist pig!

Hell, now he's lying to the American people and the UN saying there were no secret CIA camps when now we know there are. One is in Poland for Christs sake!

Lady, these people have been there 4 1/2 YEARS and they HAVEN"T BEEN CHARGED WITH ANYTHING!!! They are "detainees"!

Answer 5

Because the Commander-in-Sheik believes that he can ignore the law and can ignore direct Supreme Court rulings on the subject.

Most of the people there were never charged with any crime, nor given an opportunity to prove that they were not enemy combatants. The Bush administration is just holding them because they can, with no valid legal justification whatsoever. Without trial, without access to attorneys, and without any of the rights guaranteed to all persons (not just citizens) under our Constitution.

Isn't that supposed to be the kind of activity we attribute to tyrants and terrorists? Is that really what the US has become?

Answer 6

Why do we still have prisoners at Gitmo?
Because the other 497 of them haven't figured out the secret to getting out.

How do you know that they weren't hard core soldiers?

Do you want them to be let loose to go back to Ragbanistan to kill our soldiers? Or to be sent back to Egypt or Saudi Arabia to kill innocent women and children?

You believe that they joined the Jihad for a paycheck?

If you think they are innocent, why aren't their home governments demanding that they be released?

Who is telling you that they are being treated like dogs?
I believe that they are getting three squares a day. they get to bathe, they get to practice their religions, they get exercise.
There are parents in the United States who don't treat their own kids as well.

Isn't it strange that we have justified their political hatred of us, yet we still go on helping out middle eastern countries in economic, and social matters. We spend more time and energy trying to help them learn to be more tolerant of the religious and political differences in their countries, than we do in our own country. It seems that their political hatred for western countries is unfounded.

If you can prove me wrong on any of the points I presented to you, then bring it on.

Orphan, If it is america killing everybody, then why do the palestinians kill the jews. Why do the shiites kill the sunnis, why do rebels in Darfur kill citizens in Darfur, why do rebels kill citizens in the Ukraine? Quit blaming the U.S. because the rest of the world can only seem to kill each other. Democracy at least helps to eliminate the Killing over politics and religion. wasn't it a Muslim who tried to kill the pope several years ago? Anybody who doesn't agree with Muslims is marked for death. Wasn't it Muslims who killed the olympians several years ago? Wasn't it Muslims who kidnapped and held a bunch of Americans captive for several months in Iran in the seventies? Wasn't it Muslims who killed a bunch of our Marines in Lebanon, ????
When did the US ever attack Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, The Gaza Strip, Iran????????? When?????
The US was attacked on 9/11 by Muslim extremeist. They are cowards who won't put on a uniform and fight like real armies do.
We can't take any chances with these people. The governments of their own countries are afraid of them, Americans are not, and you can bet that whoever gets in office next, republican or democrat, the war will still go on, until the radical Muslims get the message. Just like hitler got the message, just like japan got the message. there is no room on this planet for that kind of behavior.

Answer 7

Yes. 3 committed suicide today. They are held without trials and have little chance of being released. Some are war criminals but the US is founded on laws. It is illegal and against the Geneva Convention to treat prisoners this way.

Answer 8

Silly rabbit..."most weren't hardcore soldiers", you don't know that. Most of their names haven't even been released.

We're told that they are either picked up on the battlefield or were captured in a plot to terrorize our nation. Nothing to the contrary has been proven...yet what we've been told hasn't been proven.

When forming an opinion, stick to the facts.

Just set them free to show how good we are...that would be showing how stupid we are.

"Oh sorry for stopping your plot to kill our citizens Mr Terrorist, sir. Would you like us to pay for your plane ticket to NY...we'll even leave the cockpit unlocked for ya."

Answer 9

A know a few drug dealers & murderers that have been let out, why do you not show them how kind & forgiving you are & let them live with you for a while. That should be all it will take & your things will be theirs, I'm sure your permanent trip out of town will fly with your family & neighbors. We will miss you online though.
Hatred isn't easily taught unless the seed is there already.

Answer 10

yes I agree...would be wonderful if we practiced what we preach as far as human rights are concerned...unfortunely the princiles that this country were founded on have been trampled on by the current administration...but we are getting fewer and fewer prisoners at Gitmo due to suicides....one suposes...but i'm sure the Red Cross or United Nations will never be permitted to investigate the possible abuses at this facility.