WP: In Guantanamo, Detainee Fears Recorded

[kskiska]

Defense Memos Raised Questions About Treatment as Red Cross Called for Changes

Sunday, June 13, 2004; Page A01

On the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the newly arriving detainees thought they were walking into certain death. Dressed in reddish jumpsuits, a hue reserved for condemned men in the Arab world, the captives believed they were about to be executed.

U.S. military officers wondered whether the fears could work in their favor.

"The detainees think they are being taken to be shot," the military officers noted in one of a series of Defense Department memos written at the base and obtained by The Washington Post. "Should we continue not to tell them what is going on and keep them scared."

The previously undisclosed memos provide one of the most complete pictures to date of life behind the "wire" at Guantanamo. The detainees wanted an extra pair of shorts to wear in the shower, for privacy. They asked that the call to prayer be broadcast in camp, but a CD player could not be found. They asked for tea with "lots of sugar." The response: "Not now. However, we will reconsider in the future." Of the 600 detainees, 200 cooperated with their keepers.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37364-2004Jun12.html