prison camp remains an affront to ideals of American justice

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/abox/article_1178508.php
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Editorial: The deaths at Guantanamo
Suicides or not, the prison camp remains an affront to ideals of American justice


The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba should not be closed because of the successful suicides of three inmates (two Saudis and a Yemeni). It should have been closed long ago because it has become an affront to American ideals of justice and a detriment to the successful prosecution of the long-term conflict with jihadist Islamic terrorism into which the attacks of 9/11 plunged this country.


Some 450 people are still at Guantanamo. Many have been held since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Some of them are no doubt dangerous terrorists, but the military has already acknowledged that some are still being held although there is no evidence tying them to terrorist activities. Only 10 have been formally charged with a crime.

The Supreme Court will decide later this month whether some will have access to U.S. courts to question the circumstances of their imprisonment. The administration decided early on that they would not be accorded the privileges granted to formal prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

Simply put, these policies are a disgrace. It is characteristic of despotic regimes to hold people in prison for indefinite periods without criminal charges being filed. It should not be characteristic of the United States.

and to the rest of humanity, as well.