Gitmo

There was never a good war... - B. Franklin

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is the host to approximately 500 foreign 'enemy combatants' taken into custody since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001 (by comparison, about 17,000 Japanese & Japanese-American citizens were interned during WWII*). A report released by the UN Human Rights Commission calls for the base to be closed. The report was written by five investigators from Argentina, Austria, New Zealand, Algeria and Pakistan. There findings were based on interviews with former detainees, media reports, public documents, and a questionnaire filled out by the US government (the group never actually visited Gitmo). Most abuses are documented because of accounts from former prisoners (nevermind legitimate Al-Qaeda member are trained to lie about their detention to manipulate public opinion).

The cat in gloves catches no mice. - B. Franklin

The interests of the UN Human Rights Commission are different from those of the United States. The UNHRC does not fight wars. It does not keep the world at bay with a half trillion dollar defense budget. These 500 prisoner were not indiscriminately plucked off the street. Whatever the terminology, these 'enemy combatants' were conducting operations against US armed forces during a military engagement. 'Catch & Release' is not our policy in these circumstances. To hear some pontificate on the issue is to believe the US should fight this war with one arm tied behind its back (of course, they are the same people who insisted the US was in a 'quagmire' when it temporarily slowed the invasion of Baghdad because of sandstorms).

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. - B. Franklin

Finally, a quick note about the treatment received by inhabitants of Gitmo; their meals are more expensive than meals provided to US military personal (they are specially blessed by clerics). They are provided Korans by the US so they can practice their faith. The US currently treats its enemies more humanly than any other nation, at any point, in history. Abuses are the result of individual indiscretion, not national policy (a fundamental distinction).

UPDATE: From AP 3/3/306 "(A) detainee identified as Abdul Haim Bukhary denies he is member of al-Qaida but acknowledges he traveled from his native Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan to fight U.S. forces, and says he met Osama bin Laden about 15 years ago while fighting in Russia. He praises his captors for running a good prison. "Prisoners here are in paradise," he says. "American people are very good. Really. They give us three meals. Fruit juice and everything!" Still, he says, he wants to return to his family."

* - Joseph E. Fallon, February 1998, "Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture"