In America we pride ourselves at bending over backwards to provide humane and somewhat comfortable accommodations to those we hold in detention; but sometimes we go a bit overboard.
Everyone has heard of the “country club” low security prisons that “white collar” criminals often are assigned. The accommodations often include amenities that many free Americans would love to have. When you move up to the higher-security facilities the lodgings are far less pleasant.
Perhaps the highest of high-security facilities under control of the government is Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where the U.S. houses detainees from Afghanistan and Iraq known or believed to have ties to Al Qaeda. Logic might suggest that detainees in Guantanamo would be subjected to the most unpleasant surrounds imaginable by U.S. prison standards, ala Alcatraz, but for Gitmo detainees nothing could be further from the truth.
The Harsh Life of Gitmo Detainees
Detainees at Gitmo receive clean laundry bundles including one sheet, two towels, one washcloth, one orange bottom (pants), one orange bottom (shorts), one orange bottom top (shirt), a sheet and two blankets. Detainees are also provided a prayer cap, flip-flop shoes, a foam sleeping mattress, a blanket, a 1/2 inch thick prayer mat, soap, shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a one-quart canteen.
Detainees are allowed a minimum of two 15-minute showers a week, at which time they receive a new orange suit.
Detainees receive three culturally appropriate meals a day.
Policies are in place to respect the faith and practices of the detainees. Detainees are given a Koran in their language. There is a recorded call to prayer for detainees that is broadcast five times a day. During the broadcast, a yellow traffic cone, with a big “P” stenciled on it, is placed at the center of each cell block to signal guards to maintain a respectful silence while the detainees are praying. There are also arrows around the camp that point detainees in the direction of Mecca. Certain “comfort” items are provided to detainees that comply with the rules of the camp including a prayer rug, perfume oil, and prayer beads.
Camp Delta, the main housing unit for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, has developed the nickname “Club Gitmo. Camp Delta is made up of a number of individual camps where detainees are housed based on their perceived threat-level and whether they are cooperating with the government. Included in these camps are many entertainment and exercise facilities.
The U.S. government, facing all-time record deficits, is unveiling a new soccer field for detainees at Camp 6 at a cost of $750,000 to taxpayers.
Detainees Likely More Fit Than Americans
Detainees now have three recreation facilities at Camp 6 alone, where “highly compliant” detainees are allowed to live in a communal setting superior to their living conditions back home.
In addition to an indoor recreation field, an outdoor recreation field, the new soccer field is roughly half the size of an American football field.
The new field was constructed to allow detainees to “have maximum access” of about 20 hours a day. Special passageways were constructed to allow the detainees to enter and leave the new recreation yard without being escorted by the military.
A military police representative taking a group of reporters on a tour of the new facility said that allowing high levels of activity outdoors helped reduce behavioral problems at the camps, and it also limited the amount of interaction between detainees and the guards.
Justice at Guantanamo seems almost as nonsensical as calling Guantanamo Bay a prison.
Zachary Chesser of Charlottesville, Va., convicted for making threats against the creators of “South Park” and for supporting a Somali terror group, but never fired a shot on the battlefield, is now serving a 25-year sentence at Guantanamo; whereas Omar Khadr, who killed an American soldier on the battlefield in Afghanistan is nearly half way through his eight-year sentence at Guantanamo, and may finish out his term in Canada.
Americans, by a three-to-one margin, do not want terrorist detainees tried in American courts, because we don’t trust the legal system to keep these types of people securely apart from society. Instead what we’ve done is created an entirely new society in Cuba where the worst of the worst live in conditions that those serving in U.S. prisons could only dream of. Justice is meted out based on how willing detainees are to provide intelligence and those who are mere foot-soldiers and have nothing to offer are placed in the highest-level security, even if it’s just one step short of Club Med.
Americans are faced with gasoline prices that are crushing their lifestyles, unemployment at levels not seen since the Great Depression and losing their homes at a rate never before seen. How many Americans faced with the most difficult times of their lives would be pleased to know that we’re providing our enemies with a better lifestyle then struggling Americans?