First look beyond gates of top detention facility

[dflprincess]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/4861862.html


Paisley Dodds, Associated Press

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, CUBA -- A terrorism suspect teaches his interrogator chess, grinning at his opponent and pausing briefly to look at a manual that officials believe holds key intelligence. Next door, another prisoner in an orange jumpsuit pours tea from a thermos, fingers a Snickers candy wrapper and takes a drag on a cigarette as he laughs with a female interrogator.

A two-day tour of Guantanamo Bay afforded the Associated Press the most extensive access ever granted to independent journalists, giving them views of about 50 detainees, including some in a new maximum-security prison.

Watching through mirrored glass, and with the sound turned off, the AP also witnessed three interrogations, including one in the part of the camp reserved for problem detainees and prisoners believed to have information on the fight against international terror.

No armed guards were present at the interrogations; officers said armed guards were never used during these sessions. They said each detainee is generally questioned twice a week, with sessions usually lasting two to four hours, with a maximum of 15 hours a day.

The scenes were a far cry from those at Abu Ghraib, the U.S.-run prison in Iraq where some troops are accused of abusing detainees.
"This is a wholly different environment," said Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, the commander. "We are not being shot at every day."


The print copy of the paper also had pictures on one inmate watching TV "inside an air conditioned trailer" and another asleep in his clean and (also) air conditioned cell.

Maybe what was reported here is true, but, as I read the article I kept thinking "didn't the Nazis have a 'showcase' camp they used to fool the Red Cross?".

I don't want to offend anyone by having them think I'm making a direct comparison between Gitmo and the concentration camps, I'm just wondering if a similar bill of goods isn't being sold regarding the conditions. This is what I found regarding Theresienstadt, "the model ghetto".


http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/terezintro.html

On October 5, 1943, the first Danish Jews were transported into Theresienstadt. Soon after their arrival, the Danish Red Cross and the Swedish Red Cross began inquiring about their whereabouts and their condition. The Nazis decided to let them visit one location that would prove to the Danes and to the world that Jews were living under humane conditions. But how could they change an overcrowded, pest infected, ill-nourished, and high mortality-rate camp into a spectacle for the world? In December 1943, the Nazis told the Council of Elders of Theresienstadt about the Embellishment. The commander of Theresienstadt, SS Colonel Karl Rahm, took control of planning. An exact route was planned for the visitors to take. All buildings and grounds along this route were to be enhanced by green turf, flowers, and benches. A playground, sports fields, and even a monument were added. Prominent and Dutch Jews had their billets enlarged, as well as had furniture, drapes, and flower boxes added. But even with the physical transformation of the Ghetto, Rahm thought that the Ghetto was too crowded. On May 12, 1944, Rahm ordered the deportation of 7,500 inhabitants. In this transport, the Nazis decided that all orphans and most of the sick should be included to help the facade that the Embellishment was creating. The Nazis, so clever at creating facades, didn't miss a detail. They erected a sign over a building that read "Boys' School" as well as another sign that read "closed during holidays." Needless to say, no one ever attended the school.
On the day that the commission arrived, June 23, 1944, the Nazis were fully prepared. As the tour commenced, well-rehearsed actions took place that were created specially for the visit. Bakers baking bread, a load of fresh vegetables being delivered, and workers singing were all queued by messengers who ran ahead of the entourage. After the visit, the Nazis were so impressed with their propaganda feat that they decided to make a film.