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Bush, George W.

The Dark Side of Guantanamo: A Campaign to Whitewash Human Rights Abuses

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Trump administration, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, has launched a campaign to distort the record of human rights abuses at Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. Right-wing commentators, including columnist Charles Krauthammer, have echoed this theme, despite overwhelming evidence of inhumane treatment. The treatment of detainees, including Mohamed al-Kahtani, a Saudi suspected of being the planned 20th hijacker on 9/11, has been characterized by prolonged interrogation, degradation, and humiliation. F.B.I. agents have reported observing detainees chained to the floor, urinating or defecating on themselves, and being left for extended periods without food, water, or sanitation.

Key Takeaways:

  • F.B.I. agents reported observing detainees chained to the floor, urinating or defecating on themselves, and being left for extended periods without food, water, or sanitation.
  • Mohamed al-Kahtani was interrogated for up to 20 hours at a stretch, given 3 1/2 bags of I.V. fluid, and made to urinate on himself when he asked to do so.
  • F.B.I. agents reported that a dog was used in an aggressive manner to intimidate al-Kahtani, and that his interrogator told him to "learn, like a dog, to show respect" by barking.
  • The treatment of al-Kahtani and other detainees is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
  • The Bush administration declared that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to Al Qaeda and Taliban members held at Guantanamo, and that the U.N. Convention Against Torture did not apply to non-Americans held outside the United States.
  • The Pentagon memorandum obtained by ABC News revealed that top military lawyers on March 8, 2003, concluded that interrogators needed presidential immunity for controversial methods.
  • The idea that a president can legalize the unlawful came from a series of memorandums written by Justice Department officials, arguing that the President's authority as commander-in-chief could trump treaties and federal law.

Statistics:

  • 18 to 24 hours: the length of time detainees were left chained to the floor without food, water, or sanitation.
  • 20 hours: the length of time Mohamed al-Kahtani was interrogated at a stretch.
  • 3 1/2 bags: the number of I.V. fluid bags al-Kahtani was given during interrogation.
  • 50 days: the duration of al-Kahtani's interrogation, from November 2002 to January 2003.
  • 2003: the year in which top military lawyers concluded that interrogators needed presidential immunity for controversial methods.

Sources:

  • [The New York Times, July 29, 2004]
  • [Time magazine, last week]
  • [ABC News, Pentagon memorandum obtained by]
  • [The Geneva Conventions]
  • [The United Nations Convention Against Torture]
  • [The Uniform Code of Military Justice]

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