The weekend uproar over the treatment of the murderous thugs being held at "Camp X-ray" in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is way, way beyond bizarre.
The whole thing appears to have begun as the result of photos - attributed to a U.S. Navy photographer and distributed by Reuters - which show the detainees handcuffed, blindfolded and kneeling on the ground.
A bunch of US Leftists filed a motion before a Federal judge in Los Angeles demanding each and every one of these - these - Ok, here's the first thing: We need to come up with a better name for these guys. Detainee seems to me to be too formal and too docile a word.
Anyway, the motion called for each and every one of these thugs to be given individual court appearances saying they are being held "against their will and in violation of the United States Constitution and the Geneva Convention," and, according to a Reuters item, names "President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and '1,000 unknown named United States military personnel' as defendants."
Well, yes. That would be correct. The thugs are being held against their will. One assumes that, given their druthers they would prefer not to be held under guard in Cuba. Given their druthers they would prefer to be walking around freely in Los Angeles killing more Americans.
Begin Rant:
This group of petitioners includes former Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Just to review the bidding, Ramsey Clark was AG in the Lyndon Johnson administration between 1967 and 1969. That would be the period of a huge build-up to the Vietnam war. That would be the period when the FBI - then, as now, under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department which is headed by the Attorney General - engaged in the kind of civil rights abuses against suspected enemies of the war which would never, EVER be tolerated today.
Compared to Ramsey Clark, John Ashcroft should get the "Guardian of the Constitution" award from the ACLU.
End Rant.
So, with no information other than a wire service photo, the Left started an international drumbeat against the mistreatment of detainees in Cuba. In the Rumsfeld press briefing today, a reporter actually suggested that, with warm - then hot - weather approaching, the detainees might be uncomfortable out in the open.
Secretary Rumsfeld reminded the reporter that most CUBANS don't have air conditioning and it was, therefore, not bloody likely that the detainees would be arguing over where to set the "Turn To the Left For More Cooling" dial.
Nevertheless, according to the White House, here's what the detainees ARE receiving:
Three meals a day that meet Muslim laws with regard to diet;
Water;
Medical Care;
Clothing and shoes;
Shelter [albeit, not air conditioned shelter];
Showers;
Soap and toilet articles;
Towels and washcloths;
The opportunity to worship;
Foam sleeping pads;
Blankets [in contemplation, one supposes, of the air conditioners];
Correspondence materials.
Let's see a show of hands of those who believe these thugs had better living conditions in Afghanistan than they do in Cuba. No one?
Now, let's see a show of hands of those who believe these thugs have better living conditions than most Cubans. Oh! Look at that! Everyone.
John Walker Lindh is wending his way back to the US of A. He will, apparently, be joining his terror pals for trial at the Federal Courthouse right here in Alexandria, Virginia.
Oh. Good. A couple more and we can rename Alexandria: "Camp Delray." [So you don't have to go to the Secret Decoder Ring page to figure that out, Delray is a section of Alexandria, as is Old Town. Camp Delray is a play on the name of the Cuban facility which is known as Camp X-Ray. This is very, very amusing stuff.]
Here's a great plan: In order to guarantee that the thugs in Cuba and Alexandria are treated properly they should all be turned over to civilian authorities
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