Ex-Gitmo Prisoners Fall Back to Terrorism

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Two Saudis formerly jailed at the US prison camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have joined Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch, and authorities here worry that two other ex-Guantánamo inmates may have strayed back to militancy because they have recently disappeared from their homes.

The revelations illustrate the difficulties faced both by President Obama, who has pledged to shutter the facility for terror suspects, and the Saudi government, which is trying to reform its own radical jihadis, many of whom were imprisoned at Guantánamo before being released back to the kingdom. - Christian Science Monitor

Years of having your human rights taken away might just do that to you.

The Real Guantanamo?

I recently visited the detention facilities at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was dismayed at what I saw. The place was nothing like what I expected, and I was struck by how little we Americans actually know about these facilities and the conduct of our personnel there. With every new interview and every new area walk-through I hoped to find some validation of the certainties I brought with me from the hundreds of articles, documentaries, and speeches presented to the American people by our intellectual superiors.

Instead, my experiences at Guantanamo Bay illustrate the thoroughness of the miseducation of the American people and our willingness to assume the worst about our men and women in uniform. Furthermore, the visit clearly demonstrated that there is a widespread ignorance of the complexity of the situation that we face in the current war against our terrorist enemies. This ignorance results in a focus on superficial issues instead of core questions, and a naive trust in false stories and an astonishing proclivity to be misled... - http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/a-firsthand-look-at-the-real-guantanamo/

This is the other side. Neo-cons can be dangerous. I tend to agree with one commenter Sean:

"Forget the Geneva convention, we have something called a Constitution. Gitmo was specifically created to get around the Constitution. I, for one, am sick of the Fear propaganda employed by the Bush Administration since 9/11 to wipe their asses with the Constitution and strip us of our Constitutional liberties. Our soldiers are fighting for our constitutional liberties and freedom? Really? That’s what they’re doing? Funny, considering since the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq we have less Constitutional freedoms and civil liberties in this Country."

49-51 No/Yes Vote On Closing Gitmo

Nearly half of U.S. voters (49%) say the United States should not close the terrorist prison camp at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba, but the identical number (49%) also say Barack Obama is Very likely to close it in the first year of his presidency.

Only 32% of voters say the Guantanamo prison camp should be closed, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. One-out-of-five (19%) are undecided. - Rasmussen Reports

Yet another case of people being widely misinformed.

Five Released At Gitmo

A federal judge ordered the release of five Algerian terror suspects held without charges at Guantanamo Bay prison for almost seven years.

In the first civilian court ruling for terror suspects challenging their detention, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon said Thursday that the five men could not be held indefinitely as enemy combatants.

One of the men to be released is Lakhdar Boumediene, whose landmark Supreme Court case last summer gave the Guantanamo detainees the right to challenge their imprisonment. - Fox News

A win for civil liberties.

Obama Planning Trial For G.B Prisoners

WASHINGTON – President-elect Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

Under plans being put together in Obama's camp, some detainees would be released and many others would be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts.

Prosecuting all detainees in federal courts raises a host of problems. Evidence gathered through military interrogation or from intelligence sources might be thrown out. Defendants would have the right to confront witnesses, meaning undercover CIA officers or terrorist turncoats might have to take the stand, jeopardizing their cover and revealing classified intelligence tactics.

Closing down Guantanamo Bay sounds real good.