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MY COMMENT on the article and the new WHO song, Ball & Chain, which is about Gitmo
Not being nostalgic, either. Ball and Chain is propaganda. It's sad, but not too surprising. 731 unlawful combatant Islamists who want to kill us have been RELEASED from the US military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2002 (41 remain), and not one of them was beheaded, executed, blown up, hacked to death, dragged naked and lifeless through the streets, drowned or burned alive, all things our enemies have done to us and/or our allies. Gitmo is the finest military detention facility on earth. ICRC physicians I worked with there and in Iraq, have told me, "No one does [detention operations] better than the US." Detainees enjoy FREE Qurans, prayer rugs/beads, halal and holy Muslim holiday meals, sweets, directions to Mecca, services of military Muslim chaplains, world class health, dental and vision care, white robes, beards, recreation, library, DVD's, video games, sports and more. Detainees are treated with dignity and respect 24/7/365. Unlawful combatants (those who are not signators to nor follow the Geneva Conventions or Law of War) are not entitled to the rights and privileges of lawful combatant POW's, yet the benvolent USA treats them within the spirit of Geneva since the very beginning (JAN 2002). According to Geneva and the Law of War, even lawful combatant POW's need not be charged or tried unless accused of war crimes. Others may be lawfully held "until the end of hostilities." 10 at Gitmo are on trial for war crimes associated with the terror attacks of 9/11/2001, and are protected by the Military Commissions Act of 2009, in which President Barack Hussein Obama gave unlawful combatant detainees who want to kill us virtually the SAME rights you or I would enjoy in a federal court of law. There was no torture at Gitmo, only CIA Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT), which were lawful and approved at the time they were used "on a handful of detainees which provided valuable information that saved many lives" (according to President George W. Bush in his memoir, "Decision Points"). EIT, especially waterboarding, were unilaterally declared "torture" by President Barack Hussein Obama after he took office in 2009. Because the courts have ruled in favor of this semantic appropriation, the testimony obtained from the unlawful combatant Islamists who want to kill us may not be considered in an effort to convict them. There is no moral comparison between Gitmo and how our enemies treat their captives. The Islamist equivalent to Gitmo is a PILE OF HEADS. Write a song about THAT. Sincerely, Montgomery J. Granger, Major, US Army, Retired; former ranking US Army Medical Department officer with the Joint Detainee Operations Group, Joint Task Force 160, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and author, "Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay: A Memoir of a Citizen Warrior."
Not being nostalgic, either. Ball and Chain is propaganda. It's sad, but not too surprising. 731 unlawful combatant Islamists who want to kill us have been RELEASED from the US military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2002 (41 remain), and not one of them was beheaded, executed, blown up, hacked to death, dragged naked and lifeless through the streets, drowned or burned alive, all things our enemies have done to us and/or our allies. Gitmo is the finest military detention facility on earth. ICRC physicians I worked with there and in Iraq, have told me, "No one does [detention operations] better than the US." Detainees enjoy FREE Qurans, prayer rugs/beads, halal and holy Muslim holiday meals, sweets, directions to Mecca, services of military Muslim chaplains, world class health, dental and vision care, white robes, beards, recreation, library, DVD's, video games, sports and more. Detainees are treated with dignity and respect 24/7/365. Unlawful combatants (those who are not signators to nor follow the Geneva Conventions or Law of War) are not entitled to the rights and privileges of lawful combatant POW's, yet the benvolent USA treats them within the spirit of Geneva since the very beginning (JAN 2002). According to Geneva and the Law of War, even lawful combatant POW's need not be charged or tried unless accused of war crimes. Others may be lawfully held "until the end of hostilities." 10 at Gitmo are on trial for war crimes associated with the terror attacks of 9/11/2001, and are protected by the Military Commissions Act of 2009, in which President Barack Hussein Obama gave unlawful combatant detainees who want to kill us virtually the SAME rights you or I would enjoy in a federal court of law. There was no torture at Gitmo, only CIA Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT), which were lawful and approved at the time they were used "on a handful of detainees which provided valuable information that saved many lives" (according to President George W. Bush in his memoir, "Decision Points"). EIT, especially waterboarding, were unilaterally declared "torture" by President Barack Hussein Obama after he took office in 2009. Because the courts have ruled in favor of this semantic appropriation, the testimony obtained from the unlawful combatant Islamists who want to kill us may not be considered in an effort to convict them. There is no moral comparison between Gitmo and how our enemies treat their captives. The Islamist equivalent to Gitmo is a PILE OF HEADS. Write a song about THAT. Sincerely, Montgomery J. Granger, Major, US Army, Retired; former ranking US Army Medical Department officer with the Joint Detainee Operations Group, Joint Task Force 160, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and author, "Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay: A Memoir of a Citizen Warrior."
Music – Toronto Sun
Posted from torontosun.comPosted in these groups: 
Guantanamo Bay
War on Terror
Guantanamo Bay War on Terror
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 1
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What are the alternatives? Execute them? Put them to work in an Alabama coffee shop?
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MAJ Montgomery Granger
Good question. In WWII the US held over 400,000 mostly German lawful combatant POW's "until the end of hostilities." Those who were accused of war crimes were tried at Nuremberg under the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and Law of Land Warfare. Those no accused of war crimes were RELEASED to their country of origin. At the end of the First Gulf War, which lasted 10 days, almost every captured uniformed Iraqi soldier was repatriated back to Iraq. For unlawful combatants they can be executed on the battlefield, BUT once you collect them, you own them. Morally, ethically you own them; meaning you must now care for them. Don Rumsfeld made it easy for us: "Treat the detainees within the spirit of Geneva." Even though we knew they were entitled to ZERO privileges under Geneva and the Law of War, we treated them (and treat them) as if they did (do). That is American benevolence. We hold them until hostilities end, but we don't have to be so accommodating. The "Religion of Peace" was used to pummel us. I say if they came with a Quran, they can can keep it. If they didn't have a Quran, why buy them one? Halal meals? No, I would serve them what US soldiers guarding them eat. Nothing more, nothing less. Directions to Mecca? No. Call to prayer? No. Muslim sensitivity training? No. Train the detainees on American sensitivities. Get the picture? Take care of them, but not as if it were Club Gitmo. When all Islamists are dead or no longer have the means or will to kill us, let them go, but make sure you have implanted and RFI tag. ;-)
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