Destroying the notorious Camp X-Ray at Guantánamo is a huge mistake | Liz Ševčenko

I never thought I would agree with the Guardian on anything, let alone keeping Camp X-Ray from being demolished. However, I must admit our reasoning is different. Notorious? Perhaps. A gulag, concentration camp, black site? No. In fact, Camp X-Ray was the best place to put unlawful combatants in the Global War on Terror on such short notice during the early stages of Operation Enduring Freedom. Military doctrine calls for the holding of detainees and lawful combatant POW's in the country where they were captured if practical to do so. Since the opening weeks of Operation Enduring Freedom it became clear that keeping detained persons in Afghanistan was not safe or practical. From the second week of January to the last week of April, 2002, Camp X-Ray was used to house over 250 unlawful combatants. The camp was spartan and bare bones, but it was maintained and operated with efficiency and care. In fact, International Committee of the Red Cross physicians I worked with there told me, "No one does [detention operations] better than Americans." I think Camp X-Ray should remain because you never know when you might need overflow or isolation cells. I say keep the thing available for contingency operations. It worked then and it can work in the future. The naysayers will say whatever they want about it, true or not, and mostly not. I know the real story. Sincerely, Montgomery J. Granger, Major (Retired), US Army, and former ranking US Army Medical Department officer with the Joint Detainee Operations Group, Joint Task Force 160, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, FEB-JUN 2002, and author: "Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay: A Memoir of a Citizen Warrior." http://sbprabooks.com/montgomeryjgranger/