By GottaLaff
A sign stands in the snow outside the Thomson Correctional Center,
Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009, in Thomson, Ill.
This is a must-read:
The Illinois legislature this week advanced a measure that would strip Illinois Governor Pat Quinn of his power to sell the state's Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government. If successful, the measure could prevent the Obama administration from buying the prison to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay. Regardless of how this shakes out, one thing is clear: changing Guantanamo Bay's zip code does not advance President Obama's campaign promise to close the prison and provide due process to the detainees.
I represent Kuwaiti detainee Fayiz Mohammed Ahmed al-Kandari and will defend him if and when he is ever tried before the military commissions. Fayiz has been detained at Guantanamo Bay for over eight years. During this time, he has not stepped foot into a military courtroom nor has he seen the evidence supporting the criminal charges against him. For those who think criminal charges prove a detainee must have done something wrong, it's worth noting that another Kuwaiti citizen, Fouad al-Rabiah, was ordered released by a federal judge in September and finally returned home to Kuwait in October despite also being charged before a military commission.
Fouad's case in particular shows that the United States has made serious mistakes at Guantanamo. Fouad is a completely innocent man who was interrogated in "enhanced" ways resulting of course in false confessions that even his interrogators didn't believe. Yet the U.S. government brought charges against him anyway. Another Kuwaiti, Khalid al-Mutairi, was released after seven years when it was discovered that a clerical error reversed the last two digits of his identity number resulting in a complete case of misidentification.
During my most recent trip to Kuwait, I realized that closing Guantanamo - not relocating it - is paramount to Fayiz's return. In the Middle East, there remains a great sense of distrust of American policy regarding Guantanamo Bay. After nearly eight long years of waiting, the Kuwaiti people are concerned that their remaining citizens could be detained indefinitely if they aren't released soon. This distrust abroad will increase if Guantanamo detainees are sent to the United States rather than transferred to their home countries.
That's because the world perceives Guantanamo as more than cement blocks, steel bars and chain link fence. The Kuwaiti locals and government officials with whom I have spoken view the prison not as a geographical location, but instead as a manifestation of certain misguided principles and policies that the U.S. government should have long ago abandoned. By changing the name from Guantanamo Bay to the Thomson Correctional Center, the government is engaging in a simple rebranding exercise that will in no way fundamentally alter the global perception that U.S. detention policies are unjust. Case in point, some lawmakers and members of the media have already begun to refer to the Thomson Correctional Center as Guantanamo Bay North.
While right now detainees may only be transferred to the United States for trials, reports suggest that President Obama will seek approval to indefinitely hold some detainees at U.S. facilities such as Thomson. This continuation of President Bush's legacy would stand in stark contrast to our country's long-standing principles, the rule of law and Obama's rhetoric on the campaign trail.
The transfer of detainees to U.S. soil might be worthwhile were it truly the beginning of the end of Guantanamo Bay and its unjust detention policies. Unfortunately, if the U.S. government simply detains some prisoners indefinitely on U.S. soil, the nightmare will continue and the act of shuffling detainees will simply mark the end of a beginning.
Guantanamo Bay has proven itself to be a stunning failure. Of the 40 habeas cases reviewed in federal court, judges have ordered the release of 31 detainees. That means our government has wrongfully detained almost 80 percent of the detainees that have been fortunate enough to have a habeas hearing based on low evidentiary standards and no rules of evidence.
Changing the name and location of Guantanamo will not change the perceptions of injustice that prevail in Kuwait and throughout the world. Closing Guantanamo Bay in name and deed represents our best chance to change international opinion about what American justice truly is.
Lt. Col. Barry Wingard is the military attorney assigned to represent Fayiz al-Kandari. When not on active duty, Colonel Wingard is a public defender in Pittsburgh.
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All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.
Lt. Col. Barry Wingard is a military attorney who represents Fayiz Al-Kandari in the Military Commission process and in no way represents the opinions of his home state. When not on active duty, Colonel Wingard is a public defender in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.
If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.
Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.
More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.
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