Diffing Guantanamo Bay SOP Manuals

James Hardine writes "The Washington Post is reporting that Wikileaks has released another manual for Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay together with the US military's rendition operations manual. This release follows from the Wikileaks release of the 2003 SOP Manual as discussed on Slashdot last month. Wikileaks compares the two manuals (2003, 2004) and reveals damning changes in official US detainee policy in exquisite detail. Who knew that diff could be such a powerful political weapon?"

Comments

Damning changes?

[CRCulver]

Except for the fact that soldiers no longer have to carry a human rights card, what are these damning changes? I see little to protest in the diff.

Re:Damning changes?

[Anonymous Psychopath]

I think you meant "no longer have to carry a little laminate card" instead of "no longer have to abide..."

No offense, but your statement seems to be reading a bit more into the document than it actually says.

Anyway, if you believe Gitmo is evil, the document will support your belief. If you do not believe Gitmo is evil, nothing in the document will change your mind. Frankly, I think the entire article is a troll.

We're all boiling frogs

[Peter Cooper]

Reading this article made me realize just how we've all fallen victim to the "boiling frog syndrome". Ten years ago it would have seemed nuts to be reading, and hearing about, the operation of concentration camps in the West, other than when reading about WWII. Now we read stuff about concentration camps, internment, loss of habeas corpus, the US kidnapping people from around the world, etc, and it's all just regular, "same old" news. A few people still feel a little shock, and even fewer actually bother to do anything about it, while the rest of us twiddle our thumbs and either hope it'll all go away or think that "well, we've done nothing wrong, so we'll be fine."

I wonder what sort of stories we'll be reading in another ten years that would shock us now but will seem like regular occurrences in 2017? Thoughtcrime executions, archived recording of all telephone calls (the European Union is already working on this!), incarcerating people because they have the "genes" of a potential psychopath (again, the EU is looking into this)? It's gunna happen and we'll just keep boiling like the frogs we are.

Re:We're all boiling frogs

[Anonymous Coward]

"Let me know when prisoners are beaten, maimed, gases, burned, frozen, shot, or made to watch their children murdered."

Apparently you have no problem holding innocent people in prison, without trial, without access to lawyers, without family contact, for 6 YEARS of their lives.

Man, what an opportunist scumbag. Someone makes a comparison to concentration camps, and you jump up on your podium and start proudly trumpeting how humane your prison camps are!

"Let's contrast this with these lovely freedom fighters, who for a little while were video taping a beheading-of the-week to be played all over the world."

Sure, let's wipe our misdeeds under the table by pointing at worse criminals next door! The fact remains, you and the operators of these prison camps are criminals and abettors of criminals, and the fact that worse criminals exist in the world does nothing to temper that fact.

"They murder innocent people by the thousands in the name of Allah."

Who does? The people you're falsely imprisoning? Nope. If they had, you might give them trials. Why don't you give them trials? There is one obvious reason. You think they'll be set free. Now why might that be...?

"SOP for detainees is to whine about mistreatment, torture, Koran mishandling, etc."

Yeah, those whining ingrates! They should be licking our boots for imprisoning them in such a fine jail!

"These are not US citizens; therefore, the Bill of Rights + Constitution do not apply."

The fact is that the Bill of Rights is clearly not limited to US citizens, and our country is based on liberty and justice for all. That you would rant to the contrary only shows you both a bald-faced liar and a traitor of those values.

You don't believe in liberty nor justice. You just take them for yourself. This is hypocrisy and worse.

"These are not uniformed soldiers of a sovereign state; therefore, Geneva Conventions do not apply."

I see. They're not soldiers, but they're not not soldiers. Hmm, what are they... I know! They must be alien invaders from Mars! Oh, sorry, wrong line, they're "illegal combatants." What's an "illegal combatant"? Well, nobody is quite sure, but we know they don't deserve trials, yessirree!

"But we treat them far better than any other military would treat them."

Oh, good for you. "Look, Frankie next door catches frogs and burns them alive! Why are you mad at me when I only poke out the eyes of the ones I catch?!"

Scumbag.

Re:Just a thought about Gitmo

[ray-auch]

If soldiers, they would be POWs and under Geneva conventions.

If not, they are allegedly civilian criminals and should be prosecuted in the civilian judicial system.

Problem with Gitmo is the US has decided these people are neither soldiers nor civilians but fall in some black hole category in between, where they have no access to civilian justice and no POW rights either.

Re:congrats to wikileak

[WindBourne]

Exactly how did this weaken America? America is suppose to be the land of the free and a place where democracy rules. Gitmo is a prison (from what I understand, it is the nicest of all of our external prisons) where we are holding suspects. This prison is the one that the feds MEANT to show the press. So why should the press and our citizens not see what is the absolute nicest that we will be.

What should worry ppl is what is NOT being seen. In those dark rooms, is where we should be casting a light.