Progress Report #1: Group # 6; Julia Mandehr, Grace Robinson, Kate Kenny, Dominique Bryant, Lilly Judge, Katie Hansen and Mick Pence; Guantanamo Bay and the War on Terror
Our topic focuses specifically on Guantanamo Bay Prison and
the events that transpired there with relation to torture and the war on
terror. We chose to focus on Guantanamo bay because it is one of the best-known
examples of a challenge of human rights. Our plan for developing an action
campaign is to spread awareness to the class, and try to gain support to have
Guantanamo bay more heavily regulated, and ultimately shut down. We plan on
asking the class to get together into discussion groups to go around and share
what they really know about Guantanamo bay, and the torture that has gone on
within its walls. It is our hope to really engage the class in our presentation
and to educate them enough to hopefully have them join our campaign to shut
Guantanamo down. We will use examples from the war on terror itself to show how
torture has really affected people for the rest of their lives, and how
experiencing it within these prison walls is detrimental to ones physical and
mental health. There aren’t many specific accounts shared from prisoners within
Guantanamo bay because the government has done a lot to keep it quiet. However,
there are many stories told from war on terror victims that are similar to
those that prisoners exposed to.
The questions we are going to try to answer are:
· Real examples from
prisoners and their stories
· What are the specific
violations of human rights
· What steps need to be
taken to shut it down
· What is the history of
Guantanamo bay
· Why hasn’t it been shut
down yet
· What are the
requirements for being sent to Guantanamo bay
We plan on using our class articles, library books, movie
clips and internet sources to find sufficient information to back-up our
arguments and build an affective campaign. We are going split up into pairs to
research and focus on the different aspects of our presentation, and then
combine all of our findings together to form one presentation. Our topics
are the History, the torture techniques and specific accounts of torture, and
the steps necessary to close Guantanamo down.
The History: Dominique & Mick
Torture techniques: Grace & Julia
Steps to shut down: Lilly, Kate & Katie
Progress Report #2:
Group # 6; Julia Mandehr, Grace Robinson, Kate Kenny, Dominique Bryant, Lilly
Judge, Katie Hansen and Mick Pence; Guantanamo Bay and the War on Terror
So far our group has deepened our understanding of
Guantanamo through our research. We have focused finding credible sources for
our research, and weeding out all of the sources that have no proof or evidence
of their claims. We have found a lot of great popular media sources like
youtube videos. We also plan to have a group screening of Sicko (directed by
Michael Moore) which we will follow up with a discussion. We are aiming to find
as many current sources as possible to talk about the present-tense state of
Guantanamo Bay. We believe that by putting the issues of Guantanamo Bay in a
current context it will be presented as a more serious and relevant issue.
This will hopefully motivate the students to take action in this issue
that we have seen begin and evolve within our own lifetimes.
Our presentation format has changed slightly since progress
report #1. Instead of only advocating the closing of Guantanamo we are now
going to present both sides of the argument and urge students to choose
whichever side they support to get involved. Since Guantanamo is such a
controversial issue we want to inform our class about both sides of the
argument, instead of presenting a biased perspective. We believe this will be a
more effective strategy in getting students involved because all opinions about
the topic will be represented so students will have the option to get involved
for whichever position they take on the issue.
Here are some more specific details about the progress of
each of our members:
Grace & Julia have an extensive list of
torture tactics and the effects they have on both the guards and prisoners of
Guantanamo Bay.
Dominique & Mick are continuing research on
the history of Guantanamo Bay.
Lilly & Kate are working to research the
perspective of those who advocate closing Guantanamo Bay while also
investigating different plans to make this happen.
Katie is researching the opposite perspective of
keeping Guantanamo open and the reasons why many people believe that the
procedures carried out at Guantanamo are justified.
In addition to the sources we have already acquired we plan
to explore more media sources (particularly video clips) to determine the best
sources to use in our presentation. We also want to find a few more articles to
strengthen our framework and have a more detailed understanding of the issues
surrounding Guantanamo Bay.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bellinger, John. Kadidal, Shayana, et al. Should Guantanamo
Bay be closed? http://www.cfr.org/human-rights/should-guantanamo-bay-closed/p21247
Cratty, Carol. (2009) Sept. 11 families: Keep
Guantanamo Bay Open. CNN Politics. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-17/politics/gitmo.families_1_guantanamo-detainees-military-commissions-terror-trials?_s=PM:POLITICS
Inside Guantanamo Bay (National Geographic Documentary) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7UOil5W64&feature=fvwrel
Mazetti, Mark. (2009) Interrogation memos detail harsh
tactics by CIA. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/us/politics/17detain.html
Morgan, Melanie. (2008) Obama should keep GITMO open. http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2008/12/obama-should-keep-gitmo-open.html#.UGjm6a6MKSo
Priest, Dana. Graham, Bradley. (2004) Guantanamo List
Details Approved Interrogation Methods. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29742-2004Jun9.html
Q&A Closing Guantanamo (2010) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11623753
Rogan, Tom. (2012) Why Guantanamo Bay should remain open. http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/24/why-guantanamo-bay-should-remain-open/
Savage, Charlie. (2012) Will the Election Decide what is
considered Torture? New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/us/politics/election-will-decide-future-of-interrogation-methods-for-terrorism-suspects.html?_r=0
Senate Judiciary Committee with Alberto Gonzalez. (2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vZFqjoVLjdQ
Torture Techniques used in Guantanamo. http://thejusticecampaign.org/?page_id=273
Welcome to Guantanamo Bay: A Rare Inside Look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=sLqKTh80q0o
Progress Report #3 Group # 6; Julia
Mandehr, Grace Robinson, Kate Kenny, Dominique Bryant, Lilly Judge, Katie
Hansen and Mick Pence; Guantanamo Bay and the War on Terror
Dominique Bryant:
History/Timeline
Guantanamo Bay’s history has been short lived. Starting January 11, 2002,
when 20 Afghan prisoners marked the start of the detainee operation. Here are
some important dates that show the progress of the detention camp. It
started off with 20 detainees and has reached at least 779 detainees.
· May 9, 2003: Guantanamo
hits its peak population of 680. (All told, the camp has processed 779
detainees, but 680 is the largest number of detainees there at one time.)
· October 9, 2003: The
Red Cross issues a public statement noting "deterioration in the
psychological health of a large number of detainees."
· January 14, 2009: A
public statement saying that detainee was tortured is released for the first
time by a senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing
practices at Guantanamo Bay. The statement said that the treatment of a Saudi
national (Mohammed al-Qahtani) who allegedly planned to participate in the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, met the legal definition of torture.
· December 22, 2010: Obama
administration readies indefinite detention order for Guantanamo detainees.
Katie Hansen:
Why Guantanamo Bay Should Remain OPEN
In this portion of the presentation, I will delve into the
opposition points that are made in favor of keeping Guantanamo Bay open. This
section will allow class members to know what the pros and cons are in this
discussion and to understand the perspectives on both ends of the spectrum. To
supplement the reasons, a YouTube video will be shown that features a debate
between the Senate Judiciary Committee as to the reasons why Guantanamo Bay
should remain active. A clip from the documentary, Sicko, may also
be shown to supplement this section. The ‘pro’ reasons that will be covered,
but are not limited to, are the following:
· Legal Constraints of
bringing detainees within US borders
· Risk of bringing
detainees closer to American citizens
· Risk of returning
detainees back to their respective countries, differing legal standards that
emerge
· Risk of detainees being
freed and ‘slipping through the cracks’
· Backlash of US
citizens, especially those personally affected by 9/11
· False accusations of
conditions at Gitmo: health care, sanitary conditions, standard of
nutrition/diet, opportunities for education/exercise
· Risk that
accusations are based on the viewpoint of the most extreme offenders and may
have inaccurate accounts
Katherine Kenny:
I have been researching current/recent legislature relating
to Guantanamo Bay as well as what the attempts Obama has made to close
Guantanamo. A brief summary of what I have found is that there are still many
prisoners remaining in Guantanamo Bay and what the president is trying to do is
give some of them trials in the U.S., detain some that are still deemed to
dangerous,and the remaining prisoners should be transferred to other countries.
I have also been reading articles relating to the different effects this
upcoming election could have on America's torture policy (which would directly
effect policy at Guantanamo). Both candidates hold very different views on what
is and what is not considered torture. Obama has attempted to close Guantanamo
and has ordered to create a federal facility to receive prisoners in Illinois,
but due to bipartisan opposition Congress has not approved funding for this
facility. Some advancements have been made for the treatment of the prisoners
such as more civilian trials, release of some prisoners, and a new restricted
list of interrogation techniques. I plan to continue researching these topics
as well as finding more information about the steps needed to close Guantanamo
Bay. I am working on a brochure as well to pass out to each student with
resources for how they can get involved as well as why they should care about
the issue. I am also keeping a word document to keep track of any connections I
make between the readings and our topic so that we can have a section for our
presentation of how Guantanamo relates to the readings.
Grace Robinson and Julia Mandehr:
Guards/Interrogators
Many of the interrogators that work at Guantanamo Bay were
trained at SERE, which stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape.
This program was designed to help military personnel who were captured as
Prisoners of war to withstand torture, and now these are the people that are
interrogating the prisoners (detainees) to get the information they want to
hear.
The guards that work at Guantanamo Bay wear masks when they
go into the detainees’ cells. They wear these masks because the detainees
spit at them or throw their food into the guards face. Also, the
detainees act vulgarly towards the guards and yell profanity at them,
especially the female guards. Many of the detainees will not look into
the guards’ eyes if she is female because it goes against their culture.
Camps
The higher up the number that the camp is classified as, the
higher security there is and less freedom for the detainees. Camp 4
detainees are able to do their own laundry and play with soccer balls because
these are the most cooperative detainees. Camp 5 and Camp 6 have less freedom
and the detainees are not allowed to leave their cells. These are
detainees that have misbehaved or broken the rules of Guantanamo Bay. The
interrogation room is called the reservation room to make it sound more
appealing. “Prison is about punishment and rehabilitation and we do
neither one here”—that is why the people are referred to as detainees and not
prisoners.
Detainees
The Detainees live in a 2.5-meter by 3.5-meter cell and some
have been there for as many as seven years. They are fed cold or
unpalatable food, sleep in reverse sleep patterns and are exposed to extreme
temperatures. Bush said that Guantanamo prisoners do not deserve Prisoner
of War status or privileges, however, the military had to treat them in
accordance with the Geneva Convention agreement.
Torture
Torture techniques used at Guantanamo were first realized
when Abu Ghraib was shut down and a list of torture techniques was written on
the wall by the US Army Captain. It had been said that these same
techniques were being used a Guantanamo so people’s concerns were
increased. There is an approved list of 24 torture techniques that happen
in Guantanamo Bay; however, the pentagon will not release this list to the
public. From different sources, it has become clear that a few of the
approved techniques include:
direct questioning, incentive/removal of incentive,
emotional love/hate, fear up/mild, fear up/harsh, reduced fear, pride and ego
up and down, futility, “We Know All”, establish your identity, repetition, file
and dossier, good cop/bad cop, rapid fire and silence.
It is also known that harsher techniques were approved to be
used for Mohamed Al Qahtani because he was believed to be the planned 20th hijacker
on 9/11. It was admitted that he was water boarded.
Lilly Judge:
From my research, I’ve found that there has been much effort
on the part of the US government to close Guantanamo Bay since it’s inception.
However it has been hampered by difficulties in assessing the threat posed by
individual detainees as well as the diplomacy it requires in the necessity for
human rights agreements and security measure enforcement by other countries.
Below is an outline of “Leaving Guantanamo”, a report by the House Armed
Services Committee in 2012.
1. Mechanisms to reduce the Guantanamo population were first
contemplated when the facility was established in 2002. However, procedures to
accomplish this took about eight months to finalize, and were spurred by
persistent concerns that some detainees should not be held.
· Difficult to classify
detainees’ threat levels
· Within US govt (state
dept and dept of defense) there was disagreement on which were threats and how
much of a threat they were
2. After the first review process began, political and
diplomatic pressures to reduce the Guantanamo population arose, resulting in
releases and transfers.
· Transfer to be
prosecuted in own countries or plain released
· Treated worse in other
countries than at Guantanamo
· External pressure
especially from foreign nations to transfer and release
· Thought criticisms
against Guantanamo could be addressed by reducing population
· Had to do with
diplomacy – nations threatening to not cooperate with American goals abroad
3. Pressure to reduce the Guantanamo population accelerated
in the second bush term, before reengagement dangers became fully apparent.
· Released/transferred
detainees are unlawful enemy combatants being moved to other countries and
subjected to security measures appropriate for their threat level
· Administrative Review
Boards
· Britain pushing for
closing
· Needed to assess humane
treatment possibilities and make security agreements
4. While the GTMO transfer and release important instituted
by the Obama administration differed in some important respects from what
preceded it, there are sufficient continuities so that the threat of
reengagement may not be lessened in the long term.
· In sum, the
administration stipulated to the committee that improved interagency
cooperation, more collaborative decision-making, and the availability of a
wider body of intelligence information is what distinguished the EOTF from the
ARB mechanism
Progress Report #4: Group
# 6; Julia Mandehr, Grace Robinson, Kate Kenny, Dominique Bryant, Lilly Judge,
Katie Hansen and Mick Pence; Guantanamo Bay and the War on Terror
Presentation Outline
Intro
· - All members will introduce themselves
· - Poll: Mick
· -Play video clip
History
· -Mick presents history overview
· -Dominique presents more detailed explanation of
Guantanamo
· -Quiz over history section
Torture Techniques
· - Presented by Julia and Grace
· - Video clips
· - Discuss
o
Guards
o
techniques
o
prisoner story
o
false
confessions
Should we close Guantanamo?
· -Katie presents keeping Guantanamo closed
o
Risk, legal constraints, family’s perspective
o
Sicko clip
· -Lilly presents closing Guantanamo
· - Kate presents issues faced in closing Guantanamo
o
Actions to close
o
Ways to get involved –brochure
Closing: Poll presented by Kate
Multimedia used: video clips (national geographic and Sicko)
and brochure with information for involvement
Finalized Bibliography
Brinkerhoff, Noel. Half of
Prisoners Still Held at Guantánamo Have Actually been Cleared for Release June
12 2012http://www.allgov.com/news/us-and-the-world/half-of-prisoners-still-held-at-guant%C3%A1namo-have-actually-been-cleared-for-release?news=844612
Bellinger, John.
Kadidal, Shayana, et al. Should Guantanamo Bay be closed? http://www.cfr.org/human-rights/should-guantanamo-bay-closed/p21247
Cratty, Carol.
(2009) Sept. 11 families: Keep Guantanamo Bay Open. CNN Politics. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-17/politics/gitmo.families_1_guantanamo-detainees-military-commissions-terror-trials?_s=PM:POLITICS
"Guantanamo Bay's Peculiar
History." PBS. PBS, 28 July 2006. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/220/guantanamo-bay-history.html>.
"Guantanamo Bay
Timeline." (washingtonpost.com). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.
<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/guantanamo/timeline/>.
Head, Tom. "Torture and False Confessions." About.com Civil Liberties. N.p., 16 Mar. 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://civilliberty.about.com/b/2007/03/16/torture-and-false-confessions.htm
Inside Guantanamo
Bay (National Geographic Documentary) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7UOil5W64&feature=fvwrel
Kohl, Herb &
Gonzales, Alberto. Senate Judiciary Committee with Alberto Gonzales -
7/24/07 Pt 8. Time: 0:00 - 3:12. Web
Mahaney, Erin. "Guantanamo Bay: Historic Naval Base Meets Suburban America." About.com Geography. N.p., 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://geography.about.com/od/croatiamaps/a/Guantanamo-Bay.htm>.
Mazetti, Mark.
(2009) Interrogation memos detail harsh tactics by CIA. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/us/politics/17detain.html
Morgan, Melanie.
(2008) Obama should keep GITMO open. http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2008/12/obama-should-keep-gitmo-open.html#.UGjm6a6MKSo
Murphy, M. E. "Chapter 1: Under the Spanish Flag." The History of Guantanamo Bay: 1494-1964. Vol. 1. N.p.: U.S. Navy, 1953. N. pag. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. U.S. Navy. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cnic.navy.mil/guantanamo/About/History/GuantanamoBayHistoryMurphy/Volume1/Chapter1/index.htm>.
Pike, John. "Guantanamo Bay "GITMO"" Guantanamo Bay [GTMO] "GITMO" Global Security, 7 May 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/guantanamo-bay.htm>.
Murphy, M. E. "Chapter 1: Under the Spanish Flag." The History of Guantanamo Bay: 1494-1964. Vol. 1. N.p.: U.S. Navy, 1953. N. pag. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. U.S. Navy. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cnic.navy.mil/guantanamo/About/History/GuantanamoBayHistoryMurphy/Volume1/Chapter1/index.htm>.
Pike, John. "Guantanamo Bay "GITMO"" Guantanamo Bay [GTMO] "GITMO" Global Security, 7 May 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/guantanamo-bay.htm>.
Priest, Dana.
Graham, Bradley. (2004) Guantanamo List Details Approved Interrogation Methods. Washington
Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29742-2004Jun9.html
"Q&A: Guantanamo Detentions." BBC
News. BBC, 05 May 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12966676>.
Q&A Closing
Guantanamo (2010) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11623753
Rogan, Tom.
(2012) Why Guantanamo Bay should remain open. http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/24/why-guantanamo-bay-should-remain-open/
Savage, Charlie.
(2012) Will the Election Decide what is considered Torture? New York
Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/us/politics/election-will-decide-future-of-interrogation-methods-for-terrorism-suspects.html?_r=0
Sicko. Dir.
Michael Moore. The Weinstein Company, 2007. DVD.
Sierra, J. A. "Notes on Guantánamo Bay." Historical Look at Guantanamo. N.p., 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/guantan.htm>
Sierra, J. A. "Notes on Guantánamo Bay." Historical Look at Guantanamo. N.p., 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/guantan.htm>
Senate Judiciary
Committee with Alberto Gonzalez. (2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vZFqjoVLjdQ
Torture
Techniques used in Guantanamo. http://thejusticecampaign.org/?page_id=273
Welcome to
Guantanamo Bay: A Rare Inside Look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=sLqKTh80q0o
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