McClatchy: America's prison for terrorists often held the wrong men

[Newsjock]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

... Akhtiar was among the more than 770 terrorism suspects imprisoned at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. They are the men the Bush administration described as "the worst of the worst."

But Akhtiar was no terrorist. American troops had dragged him out of his Afghanistan home in 2003 and held him in Guantanamo for three years in the belief that he was an insurgent involved in rocket attacks on U.S. forces. The Islamic radicals in Guantanamo's Camp Four who hissed "infidel" and spat at Akhtiar, however, knew something his captors didn't: The U.S. government had the wrong guy.

... An eight-month McClatchy investigation in 11 countries on three continents has found that Akhtiar was one of dozens of men — and, according to several officials, perhaps hundreds — whom the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments.

... The investigation also found that despite the uncertainty about whom they were holding, U.S. soldiers beat and abused many prisoners.

Prisoner mistreatment became a regular feature in cellblocks and interrogation rooms at Bagram and Kandahar air bases, the two main way stations in Afghanistan en route to Guantanamo.

... The McClatchy reporting also documented how U.S. detention policies fueled support for extremist Islamist groups. For some detainees who went home far more militant than when they arrived, Guantanamo became a school for jihad, or Islamic holy war.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/detainees/story/38773.html

[niceypoo]

1. They are just now figuring it out?

They could have read this in The Guardian in 2002 and 2003

[zonmoy]

4. They didn't just figure it out.

they are only just admitting it now.

[EFerrari]

2. At least McClatchy still has real reporters. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Our local paper is McClatchey

They printed a similar article and the online readers' comments are mostly repulsive and ignorant.

http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.asapx?msg=30959&nav=messages&webtag=kr-kctm

These guys need to be kept in a cage forever. The entire muslim religion is a terror organization.

I think that there are some reporters that deserve a fair trial and if found quilty... a rope.

When 99% of the male population is named Mohammed, Muhammad, or Mahammed it's easy to make mistakes in identity. Cut them some slack.

They all should be beaten...and then killed ...just costing us more money to keep them in prison..also we should deport all Muslims

[EFerrari]

8. That's disgusting. The comments at our paper are just the same.

It's like there are 10 freepers who go from site to site posting the same spew.

[Doug.Goodall]

3. Bush inverts William Blackstone

better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer

This is not the Bush philosophy. Bush seems to be more along the lines of 'Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out!"

[PSPS]

5. bush knew it, but held them anyway because doing so helped him politically

[Supersedeas]

16. with the help of a compliant rah-rah television media : victory is easily declared AND often

[defendandprotect]

7. It's a long article and I only scanned it quickly looking for the TOTAL

numbers of people we netted in ---

Wasn't it something like 80,000????


PS on this . . .
I think we've also got a very serious situation in our own prisons ---
too many seem to be people reigned in for drugs --- which should be a health issue ---
too many are people of color ---
much of it looks like a new industry based on cheap labor ---

[yardwork]

9. There were some Bush apologists here on DU the other day

insisting that the U.S. doesn't have any prison camps.

[JustAnotherGen]

10. I'm not surprised

There's been more than enough buzz about this for years.

Shame on us.

[Summer93]

11. From time to time

I see a few men from time to time released from Guantanamo quietly. Some sent back to England some to other countries. If they were innocent how was that determined? When? How was it decided to pick up a particular person? If they were bought - we paid money for innocent men and jailed them that would seem to be a method that has failed.

[Doctor Cynic]

12. Hope they sue them American-style.

[drm604]

13. This travesty is the completely predictable result of ignoring habeas corpus.

If you don't allow people the chance to challenge their detention and defend themselves then it is inevitable that innocents will be imprisoned.

[bronxiteforever]

14. Kick & R

[happygoluckytoyou]

15. THE WRONG PEOPLE.... quick... alert the media !!!