Treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners

Most of the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay have been denied fundamental justice necessary to see the evidence against them or to defend their incarceration. Some may be innocent. Some may have committed crimes and be a genuine threat.

While I can understand (if not agree with) an argument about treating prisoners who have been convicted of a crime in a hard way. I fail to understand why it's necessary to treat people held at Guantanamo Bay so poorly. Why not treat them well? House them in comfortable quarters. Give them the opportunity to enjoy their lives as best as they can while in prison. It's not as if they can escape and threaten anyone.

What is the point of and value in--apart from bigotry, racism, religious prejudice, gratuitous cruelty, and counter-productive vengeance--treating these people so cruelly?

Regards
S.

[GHook93]

Quote by: sdbest Most of the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay have been denied fundamental justice necessary to see the evidence against them or to defend their incarceration. Some may be innocent. Some may have committed crimes and be a genuine threat. While I can understand (if not agree with) an argument about treating prisoners who have been convicted of a crime in a hard way. I fail to understand why it's necessary to treat people held at Guantanamo Bay so poorly. Why not treat them well? House them in comfortable quarters. Give them the opportunity to enjoy their lives as best as they can while in prison. It's not as if they can escape and threaten anyone. What is the point of and value in--apart from bigotry, racism, religious prejudice, gratuitous cruelty, and counter-productive vengeance--treating these people so cruelly? Regards S.

This has been argued so many times on this thread it hurts. They are POW's and entitled to due process. You can make a stronger case for Jose Padilla, but I actually could care less if he never did receive a trial.

What the ultra-libs don't realize is we are at war. We have open ports and border that are extremely vulnerable. There are Islamic facists out there that do want to kill Americans on a large scale. Under the circumstances and they don't get it that bad.

Either way I wouldn't lose sleep if the inmates at Gitmo were subject to nightly beatings with a wet noodle.

Quote by: GHook93 You can make a stronger case for Jose Padilla, but I actually could care less if he never did receive a trial. What the ultra-libs don't realize is we are at war. We have open ports and border that are extremely vulnerable. There are Islamic facists out there that do want to kill Americans on a large scale. Under the circumstances and they don't get it that bad. Either way I wouldn't lose sleep if the inmates at Gitmo were subject to nightly beatings with a wet noodle.

[Emphasis by S.]

I appreciate your colorful and disturbing response. While there may be "Islamic facists out there that do want to kill Americans", the prisoners at Gitmo are not a threat to Americans or anyone else (assuming people other than Americans warrant some of your concern). So why the harsh, brutal, cruel treatment? They've yet to be convicted of anything. Some have not even been charged. After a conviction, perhaps you can enjoy torturing them, perhaps on national television, but why treat them badly now?

We know that not all the inmates at Gitmo are guilty, what pleasure do you derive from seeing them tortured?

Regards
S.