RANGER AGAINST WAR: Free Bird <

Monday, December 18, 2006

Free Bird

Eagles are a majestic species . . . living in the thin searing air
building nests on precipitous ledges . . .
they are endangered . . . but unafraid . . .
* * *
people are improperly imprinted ducklings . . .
Eagles (a poem for Lisa), by Nikki Giovanni

The media is so habituated to government speak that it still refers to the Gitmo prisoners as
detainees. These people, whether terrorist or not, were held for years without trials, convictions or any other niceties of U.S. or international law, and still they are called detainees. I guess because it wouldn't sound too good to append the words "illegally held" to the front of it. Too clunky; doesn't ring.

The AP article, "'Vicious Killers' of Guantanamo are Routinely Freed" (Andrew O. Selsky, 12/15/06), reports on the fate of almost 250 former Gitmo detainees. Almost all have been released by their countries of transfer. This suggests either they are not so vicious--as Donald Rumsfeld had referred to them--or these countries, some our "staunchest allies," have set terrorists and militants free.

All of them spent years isolated from family and friends, often in solitary confinement, enduring stress positions, endless hostile interrogations, and generally treated as scum and still we can't call them what they are. Where is Solzhenitsyn when we need him? When the Russians did this, it was brutal and inhumane. When the U.S. does this as an institutional policy, then it's called a strategy in the War on Terror.

The U.S. cannot imprison anybody legally without charges, trials and guilty verdicts. Since the administration denies POW status to these individuals, then they must be dealt with through the federal legal system. Any other approach is criminal behavior by the U.S. administration.

To sum it up, the vicious killers of Gitmo, generally speaking, were as dangerous as a bucket of fish bait. Many had been sold down the river by warlords to U.S. forces for bounties.

It will be interesting to see if any pursue legal redress against the U.S. government. After all, this is why we have courts. Also, accountability is a democratic concept, so let freedom ring. As Ashcroft so wonderfully sings--it flies like an eagle once it escapes the Gitmo prisons.

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amen.

Monday, December 18, 2006 at 1:14:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Martin,
Thanks. I know it's on target if you approve, as you are a tough critic.

Monday, December 18, 2006 at 7:46:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jim -- Finally find your blog. Great insights...and let me be the second to say -- Amen!!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 10:09:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Thanks, Joe. Glad to have you on board.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 at 9:04:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FYI. The Monday, December 18th edition of the NY Times has a front page article about a US citizen unfortunate enough to have become a "detainee" in Iraq. Very similar treatment as Gitmo -- sad to say -- but he was released after three months. Oh yea, he was an FBI informant on our side who was initially misidentified as a bad guy -- no one believed his story so he got the standard treatment! GSJ

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 at 10:28:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

GSJ,

Just b/c he was an FBI informant does not imply that he's righteous. Securing his release would give the numerous employees of the U.S. Embassy there something constructive to do. J

Thursday, December 21, 2006 at 2:28:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Didn't mean to imply I was putting a halo on this guy! However, the clear impression from the article was that he got swallowed into the System by mistake and got little if any help from anyone in or outside that System -- in fact no one was told that he had been "detained". So the point is --anyone can be arrested, be held without charge, suffer moderate pressure interogations(i.e., torture lite), have no access to attorney representation,no right to habeas corpus, and no assurance of eventual release.

Thursday, December 21, 2006 at 9:51:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here in Europe they are folk-heroes.

Thursday, December 21, 2006 at 10:12:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Yes. The program, aside from it's illegality, just seems plain meanness. Not only is this not a strategy, but I can see how it elevates the victim to folk hero. Yesterday's news ind. that the Spanish relatives of a Gitmo prisoner have been radicalized, and are now allied with al Quaida.

Friday, December 22, 2006 at 11:13:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

anon,

Understand you weren't lionizing him. Welcome to America II, the new world order, America style. The rules are different here after 9-11. Thank you for your thoughtful letter.

Friday, December 22, 2006 at 11:18:00 AM GMT-5  

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