you guys should see the movie "rendition"...

Am I the only one wondering how convenient it is that the main conspirators of 9/11 held at Gitmo want to confess their guilt now? After all these years... To have this all neatly wrapped up while G. Bush is still in the office just seems a little peculiar to me. Sure, it could be just a coincidence, but I doubt it.

Obama, you have a lot of work to do to undo the 8 years of dictatorship under Georgie Boy and to repair the international view of America and it's people that stood by and did nothing.

Oh, and nice pictures.

It's fascinating watching the emotions this debate rouses. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that we have a prison camp on a supposedly hostile foreign soil. The irony is so thick, you can suffocate under it. On one hand, we're boycotting Cuba and making it extremely difficult for their economy and their sovereign rights, yet we have a camp that is doing the same to the prisoners there. Without a trial, we don't really know the extent of these people's guilt. Under our Democratic system of ideals, we must be willing to enforce them, even though we disagree with the possible outcome. We can't revert to a Biblical system of justice. Those who use certain passages of the Bible to justify policy are just as misguided as those who use the Quran. The difference here is that we must leave religion out of the game, and look at this from a socio-political standpoint. There are plenty of secular muslims, and it's obvious Islam isn't the sole cause of all this. Sure, it plays a role, but the biggest problem is the unilateral foreign policy of the United States. Even the moderate Muslims, who normally would maintain some grounded rational thought, are silent because they completely disagree with the methods the US and the rest of the West use to maintain their hegemony. We claim we're trying to spread democracy to the world, but instead, we complain when the democratically elected government of certain countries and regions disagrees with our idea of what a democracy should be. We only want democracies that we can exploit. Further, the world sees how we help prop dictators that allow their countries to be exploited.

In essence, this war on terrorism must work on two fronts. We can't just assume that we can continue our policies as they are, and expect the rest of the world to come around. We have to be willing to help spread democracy and most importantly education. Imagine how things would change when instead of allowing missionaries to go to hostile countries, we send educational forces. Obviously, it would help to first improve our educational level. Compared to the rest of the developed world, we're near the bottom of competency. This sad state of affairs produces the idiots who think anyone who disagrees with their ideology must be killed.

The place depicted here sounds like a great place to spend the holidays!

To all of you that think they are being held without being charged... Your wrong... I have been in the Army 7 years, and right now im in Iraq at a prison for detainees. We hold them just like american prisoners in the states, until their trial... If you dont know what the hell you are talking about, then dont make a damn comment. The ones responsible for 9/11 are held at Gitmo... Do you want them let go so they can come into your back yard and blow up your family and your kids? I already know your answer to that. So, now do you think they should be let go? These people would kill you, your neighbors, your kids, and everyone around you without remorse. They are better off being held in prison for the rest of their lives. And if you dont agree then maybe you should come over here to Iraq and spend a year getting blown up and shot at...

#151

"To all of you that think they are being held without being charged... Your wrong"

Work on your reading comprehension. What we're saying is they're being held without *trial*, not without charges. Anyone can make up charges. The question is, are they true. In a couple hundred cases so far, the answer to that is simple: no.

"We hold them just like american prisoners in the states... until their trial."

Yes, their trial... 7 years after they were arrested. "Trials" only now being executed because the facility has become a political liability.

"These people would kill you, your neighbors, your kids, and everyone around you without remorse."

Yes, some of them would. But there are others who would not, and they should be freed. You don't honestly disagree with that, do you?

As for the rest, yeah, I get it, being a soldier in Iraq is tough. Suck it up. That's no excuse to throw away the very values that make America great, and that you're risking your life defending. Do that, and you might as well just surrender to the terrorists, as they've already succeeded in destroying the America you apparently love so much.

#152
You really need to get a life. You have responded in a pompous manner to any comment that you do not agree with. Please stop your pretentious babble and let someone else express their own opinions. For someone who acts like they know so much about right and wrong, you are far too arrogant.

How ironic is it that it is called Camp Justice when this camp has been used for everything BUT Justice...

Step back for just a second... think about how our world has changed in the last years and consider this contribution to the Atlantic by David Foster Wallace.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200711/wallace-safety

Here's an interesting thought. Are some things still worth dying for? Is the American idea* one such thing? Are you up for a thought experiment? What if we chose to regard the 2,973 innocents killed in the atrocities of 9/11 not as victims but as democratic martyrs, “sacrifices on the altar of freedom”?* In other words, what if we decided that a certain baseline vulnerability to terrorism is part of the price of the American idea? And, thus, that ours is a generation of Americans called to make great sacrifices in order to preserve our democratic way of life—sacrifices not just of our soldiers and money but of our personal safety and comfort?

In still other words, what if we chose to accept the fact that every few years, despite all reasonable precautions, some hundreds or thousands of us may die in the sort of ghastly terrorist attack that a democratic republic cannot 100-percent protect itself from without subverting the very principles that make it worth protecting?

Is this thought experiment monstrous? Would it be monstrous to refer to the 40,000-plus domestic highway deaths we accept each year because the mobility and autonomy of the car are evidently worth that high price? Is monstrousness why no serious public figure now will speak of the delusory trade-off of liberty for safety that Ben Franklin warned about more than 200 years ago? What exactly has changed between Franklin’s time and ours? Why now can we not have a serious national conversation about sacrifice, the inevitability of sacrifice—either of (a) some portion of safety or (b) some portion of the rights and protections that make the American idea so incalculably precious?

In the absence of such a conversation, can we trust our elected leaders to value and protect the American idea as they act to secure the homeland? What are the effects on the American idea of Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, Patriot Acts I and II, warrantless surveillance, Executive Order 13233, corporate contractors performing military functions, the Military Commissions Act, NSPD 51, etc., etc.? Assume for a moment that some of these measures really have helped make our persons and property safer—are they worth it? Where and when was the public debate on whether they’re worth it? Was there no such debate because we’re not capable of having or demanding one? Why not? Have we actually become so selfish and scared that we don’t even want to consider whether some things trump safety? What kind of future does that augur?

FOOTNOTES:
1. Given the strict Gramm-Rudmanewque space limit here, let's just please all agree that we generally know what this term connotes—an open society, consent of the governed, enumerated powers, Federalist 10, pluralism, due process, transparency ... the whole democratic roil.

2. (This phrase is Lincoln's, more or less)

To 153, what you think is arrogance, is just higher education. If you can disagree with any of those statements posted by 152, you're more than welcome to put your two cents. But calling someone arrogant is like calling someone an elitist. It does nothing but make you look stupid. If someone comes off sounding pretentious, just ask yourself why is it you're seeing it that way. Some of us feel that ethics and morality can transcend religion or reactionary human emotions. We're also aware that there are many gray areas, and no easy solutions. Yet, you find fault when someone has strong opinions that are backed up with rational thought. If you can't provide the same level of discourse as your opponent, using the word arrogant may be the only weapon (weak as it may be) in your rhetorical possession.

Uneducated America' we get what we deserve'Just the idea of letting criminals go is pathetic to me. Our education is to blime' and our goverment marshmollows, and most of all us. We the people who didn't care enough to educate oneself or our generation of children. Now we have to live with uncompassed populations, that lack self relience, education and national pride. The general population dosn't trust the polictical system of goverment and rightfully so. Current generation can't be responsible for prievious generations large numbers of children, and now there social security,,medical & economic unrest. Wake up and protect us!

THis people have better conditions at Gitmo than they have at their homeland. I say you take away any and all convienences and stop kissing their ass. We allow them to much.

Cant wait for the pictures of the riots in Greece....
Sorry if this has nothing to do with Guantanamo.
Im really not sure if your are posting them just a suggestion; =)

To the guy on comment 157
You dont value freedom at all. Talking about better living conditions in a prision, than on your home country is too absurd.

"Aqui estoy establecido, en los Estados Unidos 10 años pasaron ya,en que cruse de mojado,papeles no arreglados,sigo siendo un ilegal.Tengo mi esposa y mis hijos que me los traje muy chicos y se han olvidado ya de mi México querido del cual yo nunca me olvido y no pueedo regresar.
De que me sirve el dinero si estoy como prisionero dentro de esta gran nación cuando me acuerdo hasta lloro que aunque la jaula sea de oro no deja de ser prision.
Mis hijos no hablan conmigo otro idioma han aprendido y olvidado el español piensan como americanos niegan que son mexicanos aunque tengan mi cooolor.
Casi no salgo a la calle pues tengo miedo que me allen y me puueedan deportar
De que me sirve el dinero si estoy como prisionero dentro de esta gran nación cuando me acuerdo hasta lloro que aunque la jaula sea de oro no deja de ser prision. " - Jaula de Oro - Tigres del Norte

This really didn't show both sides of GB it put it in to good of a light. Thank you president elect for gettiong rid of these torture filled "camps".

It is a bad idea to take prisoners, put them in a plane and imprison them in a far far away country.
Especially if it is to lock them for years.

The truth of the matter, the truth of who these guys really are is soooo muddled and convoluted. Most of these guys aren't terrorist and never were terrorist. They were just dirt farmers in Afghanistan or Pakistan picked up to fill a quota and give the impression that somebody is fulfilling an agreement. In America anymore, there are like two separate factions, the US government, and the CIA/Military Industrial complex. The CIA/MIC run things through intimidation and covert activities and they need one of theirs, the lamest and most cooperative, as president...or they'll kill him. With several repressive acts having been passed since the staged 9/11 show, this kind of activity is in the cards for americans.

I can't get over this place. I was stationed at Gitmo in the 90s as part the J2 of JTF160 during "Operation Sea Signal". These guys are living in the lap of luxery. We had Cubans and Haitians living in what looked like true concentration camps and they weren't even criminal, much less terrorist. Some actually were Castro's criminals, but the huge majority were just families trying to get to a better place. It sickens me to know that the scum of the earth is living so much better than those folks did. These guys should have been interrogated in the field and executed.

Until any of you have served in the military and seen what these people have done first hand dont comment I have served a tour in Iraq and Afghanistan and no not all of them are bad I met some wonderful people in each country but trust me when I say they don't just send your run of the mill foot soldier to Gitmo they are usually high ranking in the the terrorist cells.

Dear Ill-Educated Masses:

Have any of you bothered to read the Geneva Conventions? Or do you just cite them from CNN reports.? The conventions, signed by the US and most civilized countries, allow for the detention of enemy soldiers for the duration of a conflict. This is to do two things: prevent the enemy combatants from rejoining the war, and to protect the prisoners from reprisals either from the capturing populance or the enemy government. Thus, in nearly all our foreign wars, the US has detained people for years, sometimes on soil far from their places of capture. By the way, so have all our allies and enemies. Where do you ersatz-softies propose placing these murderous bastards? What complicates this war is that Al Qaeda has no formal country, command structure, or uniform. No one wants these dirtbagsbecause they are so dangerous. If you Frenchies love them so much, why don't you take them in? Oh, that's right...because Sarkozy is intelligent and a realist. You finally got a decent leader in France. Your criticism is hollow and misplaced. It's Al Qaeda who tortures and beheds, not the US or its Allies.

#18

How god-dammned ironic.

Suggest you read the recently published "Eight O'clock Ferry to the Windward Side " (of Gitmo).
Or, better, "Google"...Col. Morris Davis, former chief prosecutor for Guantánamo's military commissions...Maj. John Carr...Maj. Robert Preston...all former Gitmo prosecutors who quit after seeing the wheeling, dealing and falsehoods issued by iur outgoing administation.

This whole discussion ignores the history.
This is ultimately the same clash of civilizations that has been going on for a thousand years,
Western Judo-Christians cultures vs. Middle-Eastern Asian Islamic cultures.
The right to detain someone because they might want to fly planes into buildings full of innocent people is only a small chapter in the continuation of the clash of civilizations that's been going on for a thousand years.

The question: Is Guantanamo Bay serving its stated purpose of acquiring information vital to national/global security?
for the argument against it i'll call up two fairly short sources, one a book and the other a docu-drama:
-Former US Army Muslim Chaplain James Yee's book on his Guantanamo experience "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire"
-British director, Michael Winterbottom's "Road to Guantanamo
to have a meaningful conversation, learning the opposing view better than your own elevates the debate beyond simple rhetoric

What a lovely brochure! Recreational facilities, clean accommodations, and advanced education? Who WOULDN'T want to vacation there?!

Seriously, if any of you are fooled by this lovely publicity stunt brought to you by a ridiculously duplicitous administration, then you've inhaled far too much of the sand in which your head is buried.

Comment to Number 160: By my translation, you are somehow comparing yourself to the detainees at Gitmo....

Perhaps you should take your family back to Mexico since you consider yourself a prisoner here in the United States. Shame on you for complaining that your children have assimilated into our culture; if you want them to be as you are, then you should take them home to your "darling Mexico." That they speak our nation’s language is commendable, not a detriment.

My comment roughly translated above:Quizás usted debe tomar la espalda familiar a México desde que usted lo considera un preso aquí en Estados Unidos. Avergüence en usted para quejar que sus niños han asimilado en nuestra cultura; si usted los desea que sean como usted es, entonces usted los debe tomar en casa a su querido México. Que ellos hablan el idioma de nuestra nación es recomendable, no un detrimento.

To all these people saying "Most of them are innocent! They should be set free!", I'm curious as to where the data and facts behind those statements are coming from. Would you care to share them with us?
Furthermore, those yelling for a "fair trial", perhaps you are not familiar with the story of David Hicks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hicks).
This guy, trained with al Qaeda and had massive links to terrorism. Left-wing hippies in Australia were crying out to FREE DAVID HICKS, and they got their wish. Now he's released and living in Australia, after being given a fair trial".
Personally, I'd much prefer that he was rotting in a cell in Gitmo right about now.
If a fair trial simply results in putting these guys back out on the streets, they don't have my support.

"too good for them...i whish they were in braziian prisons...much worst!! This people have no mercy in them...just check what happened in India last week"

Just so I understand you correctly: you're saying that because they "have no mercy in them", we should treat them with no mercy? Wouldn't that make us the same as them? Aren't we supposed to be better than that? If not, what's the point? And this is, of course, before we even start with the part where you've decided they *must* be guilty without having heard any evidence against them and without there being any kind of trial, much less a fair one.

I guess blind revenge is more important to you than justice. What a pity.

#75 I know your familie, do you remember Miguel Arraes? How a brasilian like you can be so stupid. Dolar don't make me blind like you. l'm sure the worst president of U.S.A. is (was) Geoge W. Bush. Certanly he studed in the scholl of Adolf Hitler. He made big mistakes, all over the worl. He wanted to get oil for his father.Hurray Obama, you are man to clean the BAD image , this foul president left.

very bad scene in guantanamo bay.pleaze release all prisoners. muslims are not terrorist. leave them alone.

DR ZUHAIR

I'm an American happy to see these criminals pay! All you left wingers and bleeding hearts have forgotton 9-11.

close it down

"if democracy was a threat to those who target to, materialisticly, enrich themselves at the sufferage of others, democracy would be illegal"

For the comments with Christian religious overtones, remember that Crusades of the middle ages created the concept of death in the name of religion. There is no innocence...

i'm not american.

i'm no lawyer.

if you wanna sprout your geneva convention and whatever constitutional rights, i'm not that person to debate on it.

but as a human being... whatever is the objective or propoganda or whatever that these photos are supposed to impress on anyone on the web... does not concern me...

but what concerns me is how angry and hostile people here react. if the general american citizen feels that way, then it is a sad day for us all.

americans might as well colonise every other nation in the world in the name of THEIR own freedom/laws. make every other nation an image of AMERICA.

that will make the world perfect wouldn't it?

"all photographs either reviewed by or released by the U.S. Military."

This is a joke and The Boston Globe should NOT take part in this nonesense ...

Propaganda of the worst kind

I wonder if I lived in a poverty stricken country under an oppressive regime with not much to look forward to in life and my father or brother or friend were incarcerated in a cell like one of those pictured above - would I fight the bastards who took him ?

I am truly shocked by the ignorance and hate in so many of these comments. Sadly, far from winning your 'war on terror' I suspect the words written here are causing young people around the world, from many countries and faiths, to lose any respect they may have had for America and her people.

I hope for everyone's sake Obama can turn the US around come Jan 20...

In view of the ignorance voiced by many of the more vitriolic commenters here, i implore you to consider that--based on the testimony of soldiers who themselves served in Iraq--many (if not most) of the prisoners (er...um...detainees...you're not supposed to call them prisoners) kept at Guantanamo have done absolutely nothing wrong. They are ordinary Iraqis who happened to find themselves on the street as an American patrol was passing by. Most of them are lucky to be alive, in fact, as a good bit of the time, "hajis" as they are pejoratively referred to, are simply shot on sight (yes, you read correctly--civilians (male, female, elderly, whatever) are shot in the street like dogs, and on a disturbingly regular basis). Those who ended up in Guantanamo are the ones who, instead, are thrown to the ground, zip-tied, and sent to a nearby prison in Iraq, then depending upon a number of factors, are sent to Guantanamo.

The amount of surprise, for instance, on the part of some people here that Harry Potter is a popular book in Guantanamo, is particularly interesting to me, because it illustrates a profound ignorance and prejudice as to who Iraqis and other detainees really are. With all of the media and government attention to religion, and its role in the War on Terror, people seem to have the idea that all Iraqis (or all Middle-Easterners in general) are Muslim (and furthermore, that all are strict and devout in their faith), and that all espouse the viewpoint of the West as the "great Satan." This is simply not true. Take a look at your own country. How many people do you know personally who identify as some denomination of Christian (for example), but "don't really practice." The might believe in God and Jesus and go to church on Christmas and Easter, and believe their dead loved ones go to heaven, but they're not the kind of people you would call 'really religious.' The same is true among Muslims. Yes, there are those who practice strict, devout (and yes, in a few cases, extreme or fundamentalist) adherence to their faith, but for most people, just as it is amongst people in the US, you identify with the religion you grew up with, and that's all.

With constant improvements to our worldwide systems of communication, and the globalisation of economies, it's quite apparent that the world is shrinking. It's no wonder that something wildly popular in the West (e.g. Harry Potter) would be popular amongst the people of the Middle East. We're not that different. Many Westerners, in spite of easily available evidence to the contrary, continue to entertain an image of the Middle East as primitive--a place existing in some kind of stasis, untouched by human progress (for good or ill) since Biblical times, replete with villages built of mud houses, camels for transportation, and the noticeable absence of technology. This just simply isn't true. Yes, there are some places remote enough to appear much older than they are, but so are there in America and Europe, for that matter.

In order to get over the scourge of the outgoing Bush administration's short-sighted, reactionary 'war on terror,' the Rip Van Winkles of the West need to finally wake up, and then promptly update themselves on the history of the world over the past century. How much longer can we survive on the assumption that we somehow sit atop an untouchable pinnacle of human progress?

I'm not sure if you were trying to make some sort of statement by showing these photos. After spending multiple tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, these facilities are much nicer (and cleaner) than the way they choose to live in their homelands. But what would I know...I've actually been there and interacted with them.

Under the international treaty known as the "Rules For The Conduct of Land Warfare" to which the United States is a signatory, an armed fighter who is captured on the battlefield is entitled to treatment as a prisoner of war ONLY if the following conditions are met:
1. He must be fighting for a flag. In other words, he must be a member of the armed forces of a country, not some religious "militia".
2. He must be a member of a military organization with an established chain of command, and commanded by a person who can be held responsible for the actions of his subordinates.
3. He must be wearing a uniform or a distinguishing emblem VISIBLE AT A DISTANCE that identifies him as a legitimate combatant.
Persons not meeting ALL THREE of the above conditions are considered as partisans, and are subject to a summary court martial held in the field and immediate execution.
Given the fact that none of the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay met the three requirements in the above treaty, I would say the the US has been quite lenient with them.

The case is known in the history of Europe , when people one race considered herself for better than different .
This was called Nazism.

I am concerned about what will happen if we give all enemy combatants in all future wars access to the American judicial system. Our judicial system is not equipped to handle thousands of prisoners of war. Evidence, witnesses, court appointed lawyers, space on the dockets are all overwhelming problems. The left in this country in their unceasing effort to discredit the Bush Administration is going way way overboard in my opinion without regard to the real-life consequences.

If one cannot be respected, then it is important to be strong. However, the US cannot rationally define a strategy leading to strength. The new American age finds definition in the Guantánamo Bay pictures, hello to the future!

Just think if that was you. We've all be caught in some situation beyond our control, but imagine being there. Caught in a situation where some people only needed to know you were there to think you were guilty.

We must prove, if only to ourselves, that we are better than this. That applies to both sides of the fence...erm cell.

Wow such revealing pictures, NOT! All I can interpret is propaganda.

US demoCRAZY

how have they (us government mainly) convinced people of that sh... is unbelievable
and how people won´t think crtically and for themselves (mainly most of americans) is even worst

Damn,
I wish my apartment were that clean. Wouldn't mind having someone cook me orange chicken for dinner every night either. You know these guys have it better here than they did in their third world conditions back home. Propaganda? Hardly. It would be more realistic if they showed us how they have gameboys to play with.

hey man picture 9 it is not Arabic language
it's Persian i suقe about it because of some word in there
ک چ پ ژ

This photographer is a real hypocrite and a liar... he fakes the real image..
They are very good photos when it comes to photography techniques...
but honestly... WHAT THE HELL!!!!
Guantanamo bay looks so beautiful, and that prisoners are provided with everything.. as if it's a 5 star hotel!!!!!
seriously, this is a real crime from this photographer!!!

and you can choose to publish this comment or not... after all, i only care that the poster of this blog or the photographer gets the message

Since 7 October 2001, when the current war in Afghanistan began, 775 detainees have been brought to Guantánamo. Of these, approximately 420 have been released without charge. As of May 2008, approximately 270 detainees remain. More than a fifth are cleared for release but may have to wait months or years because U.S. officials are finding it increasingly difficult to persuade countries to accept them. Of those still incarcerated, U.S. officials said they intend to eventually put 60 to 80 on trial and free the rest.
If you for one second think this was paradise for the prisoners watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4aq1rXBwCs
Most people simply assume but if you look at the facts this was TORTURE.

As it says, if these photographs are taken and circulated by a US officers, imagine what could be the real situation!! Unthinkably disgusting!

If killing innocents are terrorism, we need to be really worried as we do the most. Look at the history and can you show somebody else who has done it as much as us? We go out to the world to snatch their resources and when they react, we call them terrorists.
I feel ashamed to be an American!

We need to think

WAR IS UGLY no matter how you disect it. People will die whether they are innocent of guilty. Rational people will do bad things to others no matter what their upbringing or education has taught them. People never learn from history's mistakes. Every country is guilty of appauling behavior in time of war. TOLERANCE is a nice word but never really practiced. GUATANAMO BAY is just a small part of this big ugly picture. When the US invaded IRAQ most countries were too afraid to react negatively and did nothing to stop them. What this world needs is 1 big strong INTERNATIONAL assembly of nations to keep order. The UN has no power. GOD HELP US ALL !

i'm so shocked by some of the angry, naive people who have commented.
But i think it is photographs like these which have perpetuated these people's shallow understanding of what the reality there actually is.... these show us nothing, they've been heavily filtered from the start to finish, and so what conclusions do we expect people to gather...it really doesn't look all that bad...
Do you ignorant people who think they get game boys to play and that every cell is that clean, actually believe it is all that way? I'm sure you wouldn't think it so sweet if it was you locked up in there...
Use your brains and stop being so hateful

Peace

I guess this is a goof up by US military to show that these guys are actually living in a better world...I guess this is not the photos from G Bay
Wait, I have a guy in my nearest district who was part of the G Bay build up project.
I read in the news paper that this guy was telling that "I was mentally 'gone' after I finished the work there..." If we can believe this guy , this would not be G Bay. either the person who says that this is G Bay is lying or the person who reportedly said that who was part of this is lying..both can' be true at the same time.
I am going to forward this link to verify with this person..Yes, I am behind this photos now,

To all of you who made comments, I have just one thing to say
Remember 9/11 World Trade Center

To #203

Yes, remember 9/11... & forget the American caused death of about a hundred thousand people in Iraq, forget about the deaths of the same number in afghanistan caused by American so-called intervention for fight against freakin terrorism & forget the deaths of hundreds of people in American-bombing in FATA(federally administered tribal areas) of pakistan. Its so disturbing how goddamned ignorant you people are that it makes me sick. Oil for food & other programs are just a way to get resources... Recently Dick cheney, G Bush & some other retard admitted that attacking Iraq was a mistake because no WMD's were found. Now Americans, ask yourself, killing of thousands & then sayin it was just a mistake ???? For criss sakes, wake up, nothing is got by ignorance.

"...all photographs either reviewed by or released by the U.S. Military." For me that says it all. These are propaganda pictures, it's disturbing so many people are duped.

What a good-publicity generated "puff piece" from the US military! How convenient that exactly 50% of the pix are non-military credited - the rest are. How very 'balanced' it seems. And so-o-o-o exquisitely generous of the US to provide a copy of the Quran AND a face mask so each copy can be kept off the ground, with a prayer mat, plus it seems white traditional clothes. Hmmm something's missing... OH YEA the pictures of the inmates being interrogated in apalling conditions - (Hey fellers let's not worry about Human Rights! They're in Gitmo - yeah of course - a part of CUBA!)

What is NOT seen are the inmates shackled so tightly they can only shuffle slowly with 3-4 guards ensuring their heads are bowed into submission and subserviently. Argh I'm so bored with the USA's constant spin doctoring of the self righteous justification for the decisions by the idiot about to leave the white house. The last 8 years just show the Supreme Court doesn't always get decisions right.

Roll on the inauguration. Obama is the hope of far more than Americans.

Many, many, many wrong things here. Guantanamo is part of Cuba, so in first place it must be return to Cubans and this is final, period. Human beings inside the Gtmo Base must be return to their countries for the kind of fair trial they are used to practice, according to their religious and legal system. A very good suggestion from part of the comments is that american leaders and generals could pass 7 years in jail, isolated, with supermario games and computers and maybe a casino or a special pitching shoes machine to finally confess the truth about 9/11. Sorry about this but in terms of democracy the majority of this world population has facts to think that Terrorism was invented in the US, God bless 9/11 victims and US related victims all over the world. Hopefully US will change now for good.

Lets begin with 9/11. Who was behind 9/11 attacks... It was the afgans or to be more precise the Al Qeda. But Hey what does the american goverment do.... They decide Lets go attack Iraq cause it makes no difference to the American people If it is Afaganistan or Iraq... As long as they get Oil....

Wake up America and Start looking... For the Past 8 years and even before your country has just screwed around with less fortunate countries for your own benefit.
Is it a surprise that they hate you and want revenge, Your government wants you to be scared and terrorised as it gives them more reason to terroririze Middle eastern countries where apparently there is OIL

Now I dont stand for terrorism of any kind... But before you start any kind of finger pointing just see what have you done for them to think you deserve this kind of treatment.

But we are just ordinary people living ordinary lives and we have no idea about the political games played by the big guns!!!

For Peace and Love

many are innocent, that is the problem. the innocent, the near nobody's, and the real bad guys were all carelessly thrown in together, and once you are in the system, guilt is assumed, and getting out becomes nearly impossible. this goes for the thousands of detainees we hold in iraq and afghanistan. the bad guys should have been tried years ago, and the rest let go for lack of evidence about them. Any benefit to security Guantanamo has offered over the years is far far outwieghed by the huge loss of prestige and respect for America and its professed values. Guantanamo erodes American promotion of human rights, makes America look hypocritical, and desecrates the nearly-holy American doctrine that a person is innocent until proven guilty. In short, Guantanamo has become a symbol of American hypocrisy, and a fantastic recruiting tool for radicals who hate America for its very openness. Radicals love Guantanamo, because on the Arab street they can say "see, they arthink we are dogs. And those in the Arab street who would normally defend America, are silenced, embarrassed, proven wrong. And those who were on the fence, can be seduced into becoming suicide bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Guantanamo, and the American gulag archipelago has actually killed Americans and many civilians of many nationalities. Indirectly, but unmistakably.

The land on which your perverted nation is built was stolen during an act of genocide. The American Dream continues to be a fiction hiding systematic failings in your democracy. Disfunctional individuals defend obscene acts of racist injustice. Anyone who calls for reason is marginalised and vilified. The marginalised and vilified are considered less than human. Those considered less than human are denied freedom. Thus you create your own viscious world. On the whole, your nation lacks the humility to change so it will self-destruct. Let's hope you don't take the rest of us with you.

Everyone whines of so much un-justice that these prisioners are going through. How about the people that have died at their hands? How about the Americans that have died at their hands? How about the people of 9-11 that died trapped under a building when it fell? How about the kids that found out that they will never see their mother or father or both again? What if one of these people broke into your home and raped you at gun point? What if they came into your home and decided to tie you up and place a bomb in your lap and walk away? These people are bad people. We have criminals in our jails that have done far worse than these and they still get 3 meals a day and a place to sleep. I say kill them all and let god sort them out. Because apparently you all say that the government has no idea as to who is good or bad. when it comes to terrorists.

hey these pictures are great just a bit of advice try and get some pictures of the rain forest or some volcanos or something like that thnx bye

I'm reading and reading and I juat can't help how ignorant some people think our goverment really is. These people that are being held here are dubbed "enemy combatants" which means they were most like caught in a place like Iraq or abroad...if they were really innocent...we wouldn't have gone through the trouble of transporting them to cuba. They would have been dealt with accordingly in a place like Iraq or afghanistan. These people were most likely caught in fire-fights with security forces or caught placing roadside bombs in the road...INTENDED TO HARM OUR PEOPLE. THESE ACTIONS MY FRIENDS....ARE THE ACTIONS OF TERRORIST! They were not just picked up walking down the street and sent to cuba for nothing! I do agree 7 years without a trial is unacceptable and shame on us for not taking action sooner....but these are not just innocent people and should not just be released. They are in Cuba for a reason people...they have done something really messed up to be there!

Obama is insane if he thinks shutting this place down is the "right" thing to do. These people are the worst of the worst . They will kill Americans at the first opportunity. These people are the "fuel" of terrorism.

those POW are lucky comparing with us(Africans) . at least they have something to eat.

Seems better than the living conditions than they're used to, free everything, 12 hours of being outside in a tropical prison. How do i get me in here?

Before you go and say the people that were being detained here don't deserve such good living conditions, since you apparently think they are all terrorists, you should probably know that the majority of the people kept here (and other similar camps) are not guilty and are simply a victim of circumstance.
Also, these images only show what they want you to see, they don't show the interrogations/torture/water boarding/etc. Even if you rationalize it in your mind that they deserve it; most of them are innocent.
Btw please don't judge Americans based on ignorant comments seen here (and around the web) the majority of us aren't like this (this is just the republicans, who dont have power any more)

The apology to make is for people like #217 and the rest of the 5th columnists in this country. If the O-bots ever succeed in closing Gitmo, I pray the released terrorists are sent to liberal neighborhoods to live.

Free your totalitarian minds, Dhimmicrats!

Huh... I would like to invite all of you to read msg from Islam which means
Peace and peace ... you know What does it means when two muslim meet and Say Asalam-0-alikum , Salam and other reply walikumusalam

Asalam-0-alikum = there will be peace and mercy at you
Wasalam or walikumusalam = also on you too peace and mercy .

SO

do you think Islam teach to make things worse even its says he who kill someone is like he kill all human and he who will save someone is like to save all humanity

dont judge people on their religion
i must say .. Its all about revange whatever its US or Taliban.. Please Please stop killing innocent in any shape ..

Love for All
a Muslim

# 108 said it all, until you've been there and been on the other end of that hate ,YOU DON"T HAVE A CLUE!!!! I think we should hand all of you idiots a gun and send your ass over there. Then MAYBE you'd see YOUR freedoms don't come free. Someone has to die for you to be able to post you feelgood shit. Open your eyes, This is the UNITED STATES of AMERICA and freedom dosen't come free!

Since I'm not an American I can say something from the 3'rd point of view:
the assumption is that these guys have done a lot of bad and ugly things in their life but the question is who started first? Was their terrorism only an answer to US State's (G.W.Bush's) terrorism or did they really started first?
I know that it's nice to have oil and to have it cheap or for free but for moral and ethical reasons you can not (or shall not) occupy some country just because you want to have their oil wells. You can not simply take someone's wife just because you like her and want to make her pregnant. If you would do this to me, probably I would think about to go to learn how to fly also :-)

that is horible y would anyone ever do that to someone. i is glad they is closing it.

WHAT COULD BE FACT NO BODY KNOWS BUT AFTER ALL A CAGE IS A CAGE AND DETENTION IS A DETENTION ,WHATSOEVER THE PHYSICAL FACILITIES ARE PROVIDED ,THE DETAINEES ALWAYS FEEL IMPRESONED /
EVEN THE PARTICULAR PERSON HAS COMMITED CRIME OR NOT.

I believe that Human Rights are secondary to our nations security. Call me barbaric, but the rights of a terrorist are far, far less important to me than that of a terrorist. The realization that most people do not have is this- Only a few are being "tortured", and these few are spouting information that has, or will, save the lives of countless Americans. Guantanamo Bay is not, and will never be a revenge on the middle eastern oil companies. The only person that suggestive evidence has been released about is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was one of the planners of the 9/11 attacks. Personally, I think that he has much earned his torture by helping kill thousands of american civilians in homeland territory. Plus there is the fact that it shows that he may be saying things useful to the prevention of another terrorist attack on America. Since 9/11, we have not had a single terrorist attack on American soil, and I believe that this is due to places such as Guantanamo Bay. I support Human Rights in two cases- 1) When it is not a part of war, and 2) when it is not being put secondary to several other humans and their rights. This instance violates both points. These terrorists want to kill Americans. My email is andreww@delphian.org, feel free to try to convince my otherwise.

well at least their closing it down but if it were up to me i would keep it how it is. my teacher mr.thiesse is going for a year to help close gitmo an if we kept it open the terrorists will have a rightful place to stay. our normal prisons are not advance enough to hold killers of many .im in 6th grade and i think my opinion counts!!!!!!!

Lets be serious here war is not soft so your soften attitude is way off its a hard time, and these are hard men.... don't rush to free the guilty cause of the few innocent

i was suprized to find out that all the prisoners are provided a koran. are all of these men muslim? if so why is it that muslims are the only "terrorists" that we see? and if not all of them are muslims why are all of tem provided a koran, are we actually stereotyping that all muslims are terrorists? any way that you look at it this is a typical stereotype and injustice to a minority. American has been excetuting and dehumanizing the minorities for ceturies. first black people, followed by the irish, japanese and not muslims. no matter how good we may try to seem to the world we actully posses a hatretd for others and we dehumanize anyone that is different

pure stereotype and racism to its fullest degree. we are bad people. we enprison wrongfully, segragate and excecute the minorities.

i think it should be re opened

If you look at the pictures on this site you can see that the prisoners at Guantanamo have the same conditions, if not better, than that of most American jails. These men are prisoners of war and are not under the laws of the U.S. Constatution. The men held at the POW camp all get a Muslim kit with a Quran and are allowed to freely practice their religion. Yes some some soldiers may get a Quran and piss on it, but seeing as most of the prisoners have killed or attempted to kill Americans, it's understandable that some soldiers may lose their manners. The torture on the men is to get intell out of them that may save American lives, but most of the torture just makes the men very uncomfortable and the worst act of torture the men are put through is beating. This is a far cry from the torture our POWs are put through.

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww, what a beautiful place!
we are not "IDIOTS"

I like how everyone thinks they know what goes on over there all because they watched the news... Someone said they wouldn't trust what gets reviewed and released by the military... and yet you trust the news you hear on the TV?
I was blinded by the news media, thinking that Gitmo is just a prison where they hold these men (and women?) and I heard all the horror stories of people being beaten unjustly.. But then I see these pictures... The fact that the painted the direction of Mecca on the ground and all of the things they still give and allow the prisoners to do (prayer rituals, etc.) is a breath of fresh air compared to all the bad things you here. I think gitmo is a necessary place as long as it's being used appropraitely and they aren't just holding people forever without a trial. I sy we keep it and just rework policy and try these prisoners and move em out.

Looks like their accomodations are far better than most prisons in the US and around the world.

torture the human is always looks wrong.

#198, I watched the video you pointed to. Yes, that is psychological torture. The men were deprived of the light of day for days and weeks on end with music always blasting. Yes, those conditions mess up your natural body clock that tells you when it is night and day. But how does one compare that to thinking that it is okay to take 4 airplanes full of innocent people and ram them into 3 buildings full more innocent people? War is never nice, and being a prisoner of war is definitely not nice. Do innocent people get caught in the middle? Sometimes, unfortunately, yes. It is not the paradise of being free, and it is not the hell of other prisoner of war camps from other wars (or even for our own soldiers during this war).

Although the pictures may, and may not, represent conditions for the majority of the prisoners, they appear far better than conditions at some US prisons -- classes, prayer time, exercise, library, hours outside, more personal space. Check out : npr. and the July 7, 2008 program All Things Considered - "San Quentin's Gym Becomes One Massive Cell, by Laura Sullivan. I have a relative, who suffers from bipolar disease. Trials seem to be a thing of the past - once you go to jail, a lawyer convinces you to take a plea bargain, or threatens a much longer sentence (you are thus guilty from the start, not innocent until found guilty). He has returned many times for slight parole violations, like missing appts.

Its a time to shut down this Camp as it is the most dangerous and true hell spot on the earth.
Hopefully Barack will remain on his word to improve relation with all muslim nation to gain the America and Americans back on track.

i think that they are all geting what they asked for they dont have the right to be free

Okay... Close it. But then what? Where do you put them? Not one state or politician has stood up and said they would take them. And, I don't blame them. Our President made a proclamation to close GB months ago and STILL not ONE SINGLE person has a realistic solution to how to deal with those we are currently holding and even more importantly how we are suppose to handle future detainees.

Further, what if we just had it to do all over again? What could we realistically do differently? Not take prisoners? KOS? Maybe we should have Crime Scene Investigators follow our soldiers around dusting for fingerprints and collecting evidence that can be use against them in American courts. Maybe our Soldiers should be reading enemy combatants their rights while they are taking prisoners?

People that believe that these detainees are treated badly do not seem to have a real concept of what bad really is. Many of these detainees could be released right now but they refuse to go back to their home countries because they know what will happen to them. If you want to close something, that's fine, but having no idea how to close it and still moving forward anyway is irresponsible. Just like when Obama decried military tribunials... and yet now is reauthorizing their use because it makes sense. I guess it's one thing to say what you need to, to get elected, and an entirely new thing to actually execute it.

People need to be realistic and stop basing their opinions on their heart strings and feelings. Does anyone think that Al Queda is doing anything to meet the standard some people want to impose on the US?

I wrestle this issue around in my head. These people just did not accidently be in afghanistan at the wrong time. Now one goes to vacation in afghanistan. Now one goes to study unless it's to study/participate in jihad against the United States of America/other western nations. However, even the Nazi's had a trial. With that said, I dont care if the prisoners were forced to listen to oom bop by hanson, pokeed with a cattle prod, had penut butter spead all over them for the dogs to lick off, or even waterboarded....Having your head cut off while you are still alive while people chant god is great is tourtrure...Did the 9/11 victims have any rights?

Subhanallah, maha suci Engkau ya Allah.

omg i would hate to stay here!!!!!!!

Assalamu'alaikum wr.wb.
Amerika dan Kuwait bekerjasama dalam urusan bisnis perminyakan, dampak sosial religiusnya jelas terasa, utamanya bagi para wanita atau gadis Kuwait yang tidak akan lepas kerlingan serdadu Amerika yang menjaga disana.
Wassalamu'alaikum wr.wb.

American govt is trying to hide the true picture by displaying complete kit item including a Quran.you think we are idiots.till wot time would u keep giving explaination of ur deeds.

my teacher is in picture # 6, He was my 6th grade teacher. He's awsome!!!

As an American I am shocked. This should and must be stopped. Let's do it their way. Cut off their frickin heads. Show the world we understand the muslim way.