MOST of the GITMO Prisoners are Innocent and Tortured! Why No Outrage?

[leftchick]

Day after day I read these horror stories of innocent people tortured by the US and they have NOTHING to do with the so called war on terror. Where the fuck is the outrage from the media, US public and the Democratic leadership? WHERE???

:(

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr510132006

<snip>

Background
Sami al Hajj was a journalist working for the television station al Jazeera. He was visiting his brother and sister in Damascus when the station called him to ask him to go on his second ever assignment. It was around 22 September 2001, less than two weeks after the attacks on the US mainland on 11 September, and he was being asked to cover the international conflict in Afghanistan.

His brother told Amnesty International that Sami al Hajj was reluctant and nervous about going to the conflict zone, but decided that it would not be his best career interests to turn down such a prestigious assignment.

Sami al Hajj travelled with a film crew to Afghanistan, via Pakistan. After 18 days covering the conflict he returned to Pakistan, thinking his assignment over. In December 2001 he was asked by the television station to return to Afghanistan to cover the inauguration of the new government there. Before he and his crew managed to reach the border, they were stopped by Pakistani police. Sami al-Hajj was the only one of his crew taken into custody.

Arrest in Pakistan and transfer to US authorities/Treatment in Afghanistan

Sami al Hajj was held in Pakistani custody from 15 December 2001 to 7 January 2002. He had his passport taken off him, his visa to travel to Afghanistan and his press card. On 7 January he was transferred to US custody and taken to Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

Sami al Hajj has described the 16 days he spent in detention in Bagram air base as "the worst in my life". He states that he was severely physically tortured and had dogs set upon him, that he was held in a cage a freezing aircraft hangar and was given insufficient, often frozen food.

He was then transferred to Kandahar, where his abuse continued. Sami al Hajj alleges that:

- He was subjected to sexual abuse by US soldiers, including being threatened with rape
- He was forced into stress positions, being forced to kneel for long periods on concrete floors
- He was beaten regularly by guards
- He had all the hairs on his beard plucked out one by one
- He was not allowed to wash for over 100 days, and he was covered with lice

[wtmusic]

1. I dunno leftchick

if this legislation passes, it will be a major setback. :grr:

[leftchick]

2. yes, a setback to the dark ages for the US

it is unbelievable to me no democrat has come out and condemned this horror.

:cry:

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. Because gas prices are down

my favorite tv show got renewed and I just cant be bothered with worrying about those brown people. I got my own problems.:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[tnlefty]

4. I got into a heated argument with one of my brothers a couple of

months ago, and no matter that I mention the Taguba (sp?) report, nor the Amnesty International Reports, etc., no matter the source he flat out stated that he didn't believe that torture had occurred! I asked if he had seen the photos of people beaten to death (Abu Ghraib), the rooms full of blood, etc., and his response was still that he didn't believe that any of this had happened BECAUSE it was being reported from left wing sources who just hated Bush** and wanted to make him look bad!

Well into his 50's and well educated and this is the response that I got. Rush and rwing media is a powerful thing!

[leftchick]

5. I have relatives like that

I avoid them.

[spanone]

6. Wait till the Red Cross has a chance to examine the 14 new detainees.

As mr. bush* says, time is running out.

[leftchick]

8. "the worst of the worst"

that is used for all of the US detainees. Granted some are bad guys for sure but the sheer volume of innocents held is just unimaginable since the days of the Soviet Gulags. By far hundreds more held are innocent of any crimes. America should be ashamed.

:(

[countryjake]

7. I was just on the phone with a Maria Cantwell representative...

asking her the same question. Poor kid was a campaign canvasser and she rang my phone at the wrong time, for sure. She wasn't even aware of any controversy surrounding a "compromise" on the prez's desire to legalize torture. I told her that my vote for Ms. Marie hinged on the action my senator takes to stop this bullshit legislation coming to a vote. The boxes for that office will be left as empty as her attention to this issue seems to be.

I think until world opinion reaches the levels of President Chavez's speech at the UN and people outside of the US take action to stop these outrages, nobody in this country is willing to risk speaking loudly about how our "enemies" may be treated. The silence indicates complicity and the blood of those tortured is on all of our hands.

[leftchick]

9. ...

fuck

:cry: