Gitmo, In and Out

National Guard, Jul 2005 by Shepperd, Donald W

It was a quick trip, down and back; seven hours in a military jet, plus all day viewing the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center. Ten media military analysts, defense writers and think tankers received briefings, visited assigned personnel and viewed interrogations.

Did we drink the government "Kool-Aid"? Of course, and that was the point of the trip, put together in response to press reports of prisoner abuse at Gitmo.

The Defense Department considers the criticism grossly unfair, fallacious and mostly written by people who have never visited the "new" Camp Delta, which three years ago replaced Camp X-ray, the facility often still seen in network TV footage.

Realizing a one-day visit does not an expert make, and that the government was obviously putting its best foot forward with former military visitors more likely receptive than a more appropriately skeptical press, we launched with gusto into our visit.

One must first understand a few things about Gitmo. In the middle of war, it isn't meant to replicate the U.S justice system. But it is part of a well-defined process.

Detained enemy combatants appear before a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, which sends detainees to Guantanamo only if there is real reason to believe they have ties to the Taliban or Al Qaeda.

While incarcerated, each detainee has an administrative review board at least once a year that evaluates inmate status and recommends continued detention, release or transfer-usually back to the country of origin.

Approximately 70,000 enemy combatants have been captured in the global war on terror. The vast majority have been released. Only 800 have been sent to Gitmo with 235 of those eventually set free or transferred. Another 61 await release. At least 12 of those set free have returned to the battlefield and were either recaptured or killed.

Gitmo is about keeping "the worst of the worst" off the battlefield until this war is over, collecting intelligence to prevent more terrorist attacks, and subjecting criminal suspects to military commissions or tribunals.

Four tribunals are in progress with another dozen likely to begin soon in a modern courtroom. The accused enjoys the presumption of innocence and access to legal representation. The death penalty is a possibility for those convicted. But predictions are it will be used sparingly, if at all.

Detainees are not held incommunicado-they can send and receive mail-and have rights. One may disagree with the adequacy of the system, but there is a system designed to protect individual rights. One federal court agrees it's adequate, another disagrees. This must be worked out before tribunals can proceed apace.

Guantanamo facilities resemble a modern U.S. prison. Detainees get three meals a day and the food is good (I ate one meal, a vegetarian offering of garbanzo beans, corn, potatoes and pita bread). They also have access to recreational areas and the best medical care many have seen. Interestingly, despite health problems and war wounds, no detainee has died at Gitmo.

We observed four interrogations of high-value prisoners-the really bad guys. We also talked at length with interrogators who said mistreatment simply doesn't work and that good rapport with detainees over many interrogations garners useful information. I believe them.

And almost everyone eventually talks. A classified briefing showed us the information obtained on Al Qaeda operations worldwide. It was amazing. Even after two or three years of internment, many detainees are still providing useful information.

Guards we talked to were a mixture of military police from all services and other disciplines pressed into service with on-the-job training. They're mostly young kids serious about their jobs and proud of what they were doing.

Early allegations of mistreatment at Guantanamo and elsewhere were investigated, some substantiated and the guilty punished. We saw no evidence of mistreatment, nor would one expect to on a planned visit.

We didn't talk to detainees, rules prevent it, but the Red Cross does. They have access 24/7. Had we, I suspect we would have heard what their training manuals teach: The Americans are soft, without stomach for this fight. Tell peopleyou have been tortured. Otherwise, tell them nothing and you will be out in two or three years.

The pall of Abu Ghraib hangs over our heads. The damage done by a handful of poorly trained and unsupervised jerks isn't being repeated at Guantanamo. Keep it open. Keep a close watch on it. And keep those dangerous guys off the battlefield until this war is over.

Did we drink too much "Kool-Aid?" I don't know. But when in doubt, I try to rely on common sense and my experience of almost 40 years in the military. What I saw made sense: good, sincere, dedicated people doing what I would do in a tough situation. I am comforted.

Guantanamo isn't a Club Med. It also isn't a gulag.

By Retired Maj. Gen. Donald W. Shepperd

The author, a former Air National Guard director, is a CNN military analyst.