Guantanamo: Guilt by Association?
Monday February 13, 2006
Category: War on Terror
Lindsay Beyerstein points to a recent study conducted by Seton Hall University professor Mark Denbeaux, who reviewed Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) data on the more than 500 prisoners currently being detained in the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.
Astonishingly, only 8% of detainees have actually taken up arms for al-Qaeda and 45% haven't been accused of taking up arms at all. And some 60% of Guantanamo Bay detainees are being held as "associates" of terrorist organizations--not members (comprising most of the remaining 40%), but associates. What this means, in effect, is that hundreds of detainees may have been imprisoned without trial for upwards of four years simply because they were linked to friends or family members who are or were alleged supporters of terrorist organizations.
The case could be made that the U.S. Armed Forces is privy to data not released in the CSRT forms which justifies the indefinite imprisonment of alleged terrorist associates, but it's hard to make that determination given the lack of public data. The CSRT data is troubling for many civil libertarians because it represents yet another case where American citizens are expected to simply trust their government on matters pertaining to the War on Terror, despite past violations of international human rights standards.
Lindsay Beyerstein points to a recent study conducted by Seton Hall University professor Mark Denbeaux, who reviewed Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) data on the more than 500 prisoners currently being detained in the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.
Astonishingly, only 8% of detainees have actually taken up arms for al-Qaeda and 45% haven't been accused of taking up arms at all. And some 60% of Guantanamo Bay detainees are being held as "associates" of terrorist organizations--not members (comprising most of the remaining 40%), but associates. What this means, in effect, is that hundreds of detainees may have been imprisoned without trial for upwards of four years simply because they were linked to friends or family members who are or were alleged supporters of terrorist organizations.
The case could be made that the U.S. Armed Forces is privy to data not released in the CSRT forms which justifies the indefinite imprisonment of alleged terrorist associates, but it's hard to make that determination given the lack of public data. The CSRT data is troubling for many civil libertarians because it represents yet another case where American citizens are expected to simply trust their government on matters pertaining to the War on Terror, despite past violations of international human rights standards.
Comments
The battlefield is the entire world. You grew up hiding in a church. I grew up in the city of Newark,New Jersey. As a street person I can tell you that you are FULL OF SHIT. Guantonimo is protecting my nine grandchildren.
As for Seton Hall it is the most corrupt university in America.