WikiLeaks Releases Guantanamo Prisoner Files

HungryHobo writes with news that WikiLeaks has started to release a collection of 779 files involving the detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. "The details for every detainee will be released daily over the coming month. ... In thousands of pages of documents dating from 2002 to 2008 and never seen before by members of the public or the media, the cases of the majority of the prisoners held at Guantánamo — 758 out of 779 in total — are described in detail in memoranda from JTF-GTMO, the Joint Task Force at Guantánamo Bay, to US Southern Command in Miami, Florida. These memoranda, which contain JTF-GTMO's recommendations about whether the prisoners in question should continue to be held, or should be released (transferred to their home governments, or to other governments) contain a wealth of important and previously undisclosed information, including health assessments, for example, and, in the cases of the majority of the 171 prisoners who are still held, photos (mostly for the first time ever)." Reader rrayst notes that according to one such document, if you use a Casio F-91W wristwatch, you might be a member of al-Qaida.

Comments

Casio F-91W wristwatch

[Black Art]

Well now I know what to give for Christmas...

Re:Casio F-91W wristwatch

[goombah99]

If you read the article:

"The Casio was known to be given to the students at al-Qaida bomb-making training courses in Afghanistan at which the students received instruction in the preparation of timing devices using the watch.

"Approximately one-third of the JTF-GTMO detainees that were captured with these models of watches have known connections to explosives, either having attended explosives training, having association with a facility where IEDs were made or where explosives training was given, or having association with a person identified as an explosives expert."

More than 50 detainee reports refer to the Casio timepieces. The records of 32 detainees refer to the black Casio F-91W, while a further 20 make reference to the silver version, the A-159W.

It's not silly at all. But it's not the reason they arrested them either.

Re:Casio F-91W wristwatch

[0100010001010011]

By that logic:

"The skin pigmentation was known to be consistent to the students at an al-Qaida bomb-making training course in Afghanistan."

"Approximately 3/4 of the JTF-GTMO detainees that were captured being brown have known connections to explosives, either having attended explosives training, having an association with a facility where IEDs were made or where explosives training was given, or having association with a person identified as an explosives expert"

"More than 50 detainees appear to be brown. The skin pigmentation of 32 detainees appear to be "Mexicanish", while a further 20 appear to be "Almost Italian".

Not silly at all.... Except there are a whole hell of a lot of brown people. And equally a whole hell of a lot of people with these watches. Hell It looks to be very similar to the first watch I ever got around when I was 10. Not to mention if I started making decisions on 33% accuracy, I'd get fired.

Re:Casio F-91W wristwatch

[ledow]

I have that watch. In fact, it's the only type of watch that I've bought since I was a kid. I've had others given to me but always use that EXACT model. The only thing that goes wrong with them is the strap and they are cheap enough to throw away and replace.

I've *never* had a problem buying that model, in the last, what, 15-20 years? It's always the cheapest digital watch available in any high-street store (i.e. not cheapy 50p kiddies things).

- It has a digital display.
- It's waterproof. I regularly go swimming with one without even thinking about it any more.
- I've never had to replace a battery in one (even the strapless ones I kept are still going).
- It has a cheap standard battery if I ever do.
- It shows date, day and time on a single display without pressing anything.
- It has alarm and stopwatch if you need it.
- You can turn all the stupid bleeps and bloops off.
- It has a light that's powerful enough to see the display perfectly in complete darkness (later models have an "electroluminscence" display that's even better) and doesn't run your batteries down even with every-day use over a long period and also to semi-illuminate other things in an emergency (I have read an entire novel by that light!)
- It keeps good time and is easy to change when timezones changes

Gimme an MSF (radio-sync) version, with electroluminesence and a decent strap and I'll give you a hefty sum and never have to buy another watch again!.

But as a terrorist marker? Not unless you can trace back that watch's serial number to a particular batch - you can buy it EVERYWHERE, even abroad, without any hassle at all. And I don't even think they *have* serial numbers (I've never seen one). It's like saying all the terrorists were wearing shoes. Equally as true. Equally as useless as a marker.

Re:Casio F-91W wristwatch

[hairyfeet]

I'd say the bigger question is what is it about THAT watch that makes it attractive? is it easy to hack into the timing circuits? But I would also say correlation != causation, it may just be someone in that area has a shitload of those cheap ass watches and therefor everybody has them. If they start surveillance simply based on the watch that would be as dumb as saying "everyone with a Tracphone is a meth dealer" because most meth dealers use throw away Tracphones.

Either way it doesn't change the fact that Manning is an American hero and that his contribution to the truth will one day be looked at like the Pentagon papers. The amount of double dealing, back stabbing, and just plain old evil uncovered in that dump should have heads rolling and the fact that it didn't and Manning is allowed to be tortured just shows that the MSM is now nothing but a puppet for the PTB. Maybe when China dumps the US Dollar as they are about to and we have a full on collapse we'll get something better, as it is now we have a country BY the megacorps FOR the megacorps and the people can fuck right off.

Re:If You See Suspicious Activity

[MightyMartian]

Patriotism, the last refuge of the fucking moron.

GITMO still open?

[ShavedOrangutan]

Where's all that Hope and Change?

Re:GITMO still open?

[MightyMartian]

In the trash can next to habeus corpus and the presumption of innocence.

Re:GITMO still open?

[Dyinobal]

Like the cake it too was a lie.

Re:GITMO still open?

[Rei]

Awaiting congress to overturn the line in the last defense spending bill which prohibited the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the US courts system. Of course, even without that, all of the evidence against the key detainees is irrevocably tainted by torture and other factors.

Re:GITMO still open?

[petermgreen]

Of course, even without that, all of the evidence against the key detainees is irrevocably tainted by torture and other factors.

BINGO Afaict there is no way to give these detainees a fair and effective trial. So the choice essentially comes down to either releasing them, convicting them in a show trial or continuing to detain them without trial. None of which are very attractive options.

There is also the side problem that even if they weren't enemies of the USA to begin with they are very likely to have become enemies of the USA after experiancing gitmo.

Re:GITMO still open?

[Hatta]

That's a bullshit excuse. The President is sworn to uphold the constitution. When Congress passes an unconstitutional law, the President has to challenge it. Obama has done no such thing.

Also, there are other ways to close Guantanamo. He's forbidden from using budgeted funds to close Guantanamo. So, lets have a bake sale. If Obama asked for donations to go towards closing Guantanamo I'd gladly pony up $100. I bet there are a few tens of thousands of freedom loving Americans who would do the same. But Obama hasn't tried anything, so it's hard to look at this as anything but an excuse.

Also, it's worth pointing out that Obama's Justice Department hasn't indicted anyone for torture. Not one. He can't blame that on Congress. Obama condones torture.

In every way shape and form Obama has failed to deliver on his promises of change. He has no one to blame for this but himself.

Re:GITMO still open?

[h4rr4r]

What?
You let them go. Plain and simple, if you have no admissible evidence that is the rule. There is no choice involved.

As to your side problem, maybe someone should have thought of that before kidnapping and torturing them?

Re:GITMO still open?

[rpillala]

As unattractive as those options are, only one of them is legal. Part of having a constitutional government with elected leaders is that the law supersedes anyone's desires to the contrary. If the founders had wanted the president to have the powers of royalty they would have written them in. Or left room for them. This is explicitly not the case. What else can we call detaining people in an extralegal prison based purely on the say-so of the President or forces under his command? This is one branch of government playing the role of two branches, and violates the checks and balances fundamental to the system. As another poster points out, the military base at Guantanamo Bay is not part of the criminal justice system.

Re:Infected with moles

[ae1294]

Ok, like everyone else, I too have got opinions on the judgement of this release. But the real important question is this. Just how many moles or rogue agents do we have in the US? What's next? Release of ICBM and warhead technical documents? Our top secret fighter jet technology? Fuck, just call the USA the great "Pinata". If you beat on us enough times, we'll spill all the goods for everyone else to pick up. Hey, maybe even China can do something with it. Good luck fucking with them!

Maybe it has something to do with people knowing they are doing things that they shouldn't be doing. Like holding people without trial forever?

Re:Infected with moles

[spun]

You misspelled "patriots." When a person attempts to hold their country accountable for transgressions against human rights, they are a patriot. Attempting to cover up for your country's crimes makes you a criminal.

I am currently a terrorism suspect (no joke)

[Andy Smith]

I'll tell you something funny, and slightly on-topic: I am currently a terrorism suspect. I'm a photographer, and for a few weeks earlier this month I was employed to photograph the final stages of an industrial project. This involved photographing a buoy being towed out to sea. I requested access to an oil storage depot that has a long jetty, which would have provided a good spot to take pictures from. I wasn't allowed access, and that was the end of it. Until a few days ago, when the police contacted me. A security guard at the depot had reported me, and the police were investigating why I was "taking photographs of an oil facility", which was considered a possible act of terrorist activity. I was interviewed on Friday, and the police have more-or-less said that I've got nothing to worry about. But it just shows the absurd level to which "terrorism concerns" can be used to harass people.

Remember, what happened: Requested access to take pictures _from_ oil depot's jetty with full explanation of why, told no, end of story. What police are investigating: Taking photos _of_ an oil facility for unknown reasons. I never took a single photo anywhere near the place!

Re:Infected with moles

[Dyinobal]

Documents on prisoners, in a prison facility is hardly the most sensitive information. It certainly has diplomatic ramifications of being released but as far as hurting US technical superiority or secret arms tech, it doesn't. Mostly all wikileaks does is dig up mud for people to fling. Which I'm not entirely sure is a bad thing.

Re:Hey Obama, remember you promised to close Gitmo

[chill]

...because if we aren't willing to take the innocent ones, why should they?

Because they are citizens of those countries. We try to give them BACK, first.

Yes, it is his fault because he made a big deal about this during the campaign. He was either too IGNORANT of the process, or just didn't care and was saying anything to get elected.

My vote is "both".

Of course, this is no different than 99% of other politicians.

Re:Hey Obama, remember you promised to close Gitmo

[dkleinsc]

Yes, it is his fault.

The whole point is not just to put these guys in another prison: If they're guilty of nothing, as they are in many cases, then the correct thing to do is to say "You're free to go. If you want, we'll set up travel arrangements back to your home. Please accept our humblest apologies, and $X for some reparations for what we put you through for no reason whatsoever. If you were tortured, we would like your help putting your torturers behind bars."

About the only piece of this that Barack Obama as president couldn't do without authorization from Congress is the reparations. Presidents can pardon people, they can tell the military to move somebody from point A to point B, he can definitely apologize to people, and he can direct his Attorney General to investigate possible war crimes.

aljazeera journalist arrested

[edxwelch]

It's quite interesting to read that they arrested people that they knew were innocent, just so they could interrogate them.
"an al-Jazeera journalist was held at GuantÃnamo for six years, partly in order to be interrogated about the Arabic news network."
Another gut was arrested "because of his general knowledge of activities in the areas of Khowst and Kabul based as a result of his frequent travels through the region as a taxi driver".
 

Re:Infected with moles

[spun]

While I understand that you would like us to believe it is "real simple," it is not. Not everyone in Gitmo was captured in combat. Many were taken from their own homes, turned in by neighbors with a grudge for a cash reward. An American citizen was detained in Gitmo. The people in Gitmo are not POWs. If they were, we would be breaking the Geneva Convention, we have agreed not to treat POWs that way. Even prisoners of war have the right to a trial.

Re:Infected with moles

[spun]

How do we know anyone in Gitmo is actually a member of Al Queda? It sure as hell isn't based on evidence, so I'm guessing it is wishful thinking.

Here's the thing, you can keep bringing up points like this, saying, "But what about blah blah bah?" And I will keep saying the same thing, "How do we KNOW blah blah blah?" Without a trial, we don't. Like I said, most of these guys were not caught in the act, so how do we know they did anything wrong? Wishful thinking. We wish that they did something wrong, because if they didn't, then we are just as evil as the people we are fighting. That is why there are innocents in Gitmo.

What would you say to someone like the fellow who was held in Gitmo his entire adult life based on a mistaken identity? "Ooops, sorry, but you've got to break a few eggs to make an omelet." How is that any different from saying, "You've got to blow up a few world trade centers to throw off American Imperialism?" When you throw out the rule of law, you leave yourself open to others throwing out the rule of law, too. You have no moral high ground to stand on to justify your actions, and you are no better than your worst enemies.

Re:Infected with moles

[HungryHobo]

just out of interest ... have you ever read the geneva convention? like at all?

"Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal. "

please.
show me records of the tribunals.

no tribunals?
well sorry.
then the Geneva convention applies in full.

Re:If You See Suspicious Activity

[TheRaven64]

No, you're not. It's like being proud of your parents. The society that formed you may be proud of you, and you can be proud of a society that you help to create, but being proud of a society just because you happen to have been born within the borders that it nominally occupies is misplaced.