Five New Reasons (And One Old One) Why We Must Close Guantanamo Now

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/rights/140464/five_new_reasons_%28and_one_old_one%29_why_we_must_close_guantanamo_now

Five New Reasons (and One Old One) Why We Must Close Guantanamo Now

By Liliana Segura, AlterNet. Posted June 6, 2009.

A surprising poll shows that by wide margins, Americans don't want to see Gitmo shut down -- here's why it should be closed forever.

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Despite all we have learned about the prisoners held there -- the fact, for starters, that only a fraction of them are actually self-described terrorists who plotted anti-American acts -- much of the political establishment has stuck with the argument that Guantánamo might just be the only place for these "terrorists," promising that under no circumstances will they allow them to be brought onto U.S. soil.

And apparently the fearmongering is working on the public. "Coming up on eight years after Sept. 11, fear remains, and fear is politically potent," political scientist Paul Freedman of the University of Virginia, who studies public opinion, told USA Today. "When it comes to the issue of terrorism ... people are inclined to err on the side of that fear."

"I feel like all the ground we gained over the past five years has been lost in the last five weeks," says activist Matthew Daloisio, a member of Witness Against Torture, which has advocated relentlessly for the closure of the prison camp.

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Reason #1: The Torture Continues

So Obama was inaugurated, and that means no more torture, right?

Not quite.

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Reason #2: Prisoners Are Still Committing Suicide

This week brought news that a Yemeni prisoner, who once starved himself to 86 pounds to protest his detention, was found dead in his cell on Monday in an "apparent suicide," more than seven years after being brought to Guantánamo in February 2002.

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Reason #3: The Surreal Plight of Guantánamo's Uighurs

When the history of injustice at Guantánamo Bay is written, a whole section will be reserved for the truly unbelievable story of Guantánamo's Uighurs, 17 Chinese Muslims who have been held at Guantánamo since 2002.

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Reason #4: U.S. Federal Courts -- and U.S. Prisons -- Are Perfectly Equipped to Handle Terrorism Suspects

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[frog92969]

1. Guantánamo is the icon...

of the potential death of America.
But like any icon it's only the focal point of many widespread parts.
Kidnapping, torture, aggressive wars, occupations, mass slaughter,
mass theft, psyops, secret laws, optional rights, optional laws...

Anybody (pawns) who wants to "look forward" doesn't grasp the concept of what happened,
and is STILL happening.

"Give me liberty, or give me death" was the battle cry of a true American.
Also some quaint mutterings about the rule of law.
If we can toss our values out in the face of fear due to uncertainty then we deserve the
fascists that are waiting there to pick up the pieces for us. THEY ARE THE ENEMY!

Even a brain dead repug should be able to see that this is NOT how you defend a country,
this is blatant stupidity and a major head game.
Room 101 is only the tip of the iceberg, and our ship will hit it.

Every day I'm infuriated by this.

[Wednesdays]

2. K&R

:kick:

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. As per Obama's Executive Order... T minus 229 days and counting. n/t