TORTURE AT GITMO

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime—Pol Pot or others —that had no concern for human beings."

--DICK DURBIN

That's how Durbin described American personnel at Guantanamo Bay on June 21, 2005.

Yesterday, guards had the audacity to prevent a prisoner from committing suicide!

How cruel!

MSNBC News Services -- Prisoners wielding fans, light fixtures and other improvised weapons clashed with guards trying to stop a detainee from committing suicide at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, the military said Friday.

The clash occurred Thursday in a medium-security section of the camp as guards were responding to the fourth attempted suicide that day at the detention center on a U.S. Navy base in Cuba, said Cmdr. Robert Durand.

Detainees struck guards as they entered a communal living area to stop a prisoner who was trying to hang himself, Durand said. Earlier in the day, three detainees in another part of the prison attempted suicide by swallowing prescription medicine they had been hoarding.

So, there was an uprising by prisoners at Gitmo, not for better conditions but to enable a fellow detainee to kill himself.

(Something to keep in mind -- Do U.S. guards prevent U.S. prisoners from committing suicide in U.S. prisons? Yes, they do.)

The "improvised weapons" remind me of how the brave passengers and crew aboard Flight 93 (detainees of the terrorists, victims of torture) fought the hijackers and prevented them from succeeding in their mission.

The difference is the Flight 93 heroes fought for their lives. At Gitmo, the detainees fight to kill themselves.

"At this point, I have no idea of motive, no idea of any coordination and no idea of any intended message," Durand said.

I can't speculate on motive or message here, but I can draw the conclusion that people espousing the ideology of militant Islam do not respect life.

That is evident from this incident, as well as the uncontained epidemic of suicide bombers, and of course, the actions of the 9/11 terrorists.

...The United States has faced criticism from human rights groups and some of its allies for holding prisoners at Guantanamo indefinitely. Some have been there since the camp opened in January 2002.

The incidents occurred on the same day that the military transferred 15 Saudi detainees to their country.

There have been 39 suicide attempts at Guantanamo since the detention center opened in January 2002, the military said. At least 12 were by Juma'a Mohammed al-Dossary, a 32-year-old from Bahrain. Guantanamo Bay holds detainees suspected of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

It appears that there is an attempt to connect the supposedly horrible treatment of Gitmo prisoners, tortured by U.S. personnel, with their desire to commit suicide.

That's unjustified.

Al Qaeda and Taliban members WANT to die as martyrs. They WANT to kill themselves. Ideally, they kill infidels (AKA innocent non-Muslim men, women, and children) in the process.

In the discussion of this prisoner/guard clash at Gitmo, when the human rights groups go ballistic over this, it's important to acknowledge the mindset of al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists.

They DO NOT respect life.

They WANT to die.

They WANT to kill.