Posted on May 17, 2018
There Are 40 Men Still Held at Guantanamo Bay As "Forever Prisoners"
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It's a shame that a high school social studies teacher (Dan Norland), enamored by the lies and exaggerations of two former unlawful combatant Islamist detainees at the US military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, decided that his version of Gitmo, is accurate enough to present it to his students as fact. Saying, "I want them to pay close attention to the facts so they can evaluate the arguments for themselves and arrive at fully informed conclusions," is a hollow attempt at parity in a piece that is decidedly partisan and skewed by pre-conceptions and lies about everything from what Gitmo is, to its purpose. Dan and I have gone back and forth on this issue before, and I have read his book chronically telling the story of his two Islamist friends who have hoodwinked not only him, but now apparently a generation of young impressionable minds in a wealthy San Diego suburban private school. His captive audience should indeed be given the opportunity to know all of the facts about Gitmo and those who have been detained there. But, they won't get those facts from Dan. He left out in his article that both of his subjects in his book have extensive backgrounds in either terrorist training or contacts with al Qaeda's highest officers through "charitable organizations" in Pakistan and other Islamist-friendly countries where they were employed. There are other "arguments" to be made, Dan. Maybe show your students a real Gitmo story: "Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay: A Memoir of a Citizen Warrior," by the former ranking US Army Medical Department officer with the Joint Detainee Operations Group, Joint Task Force 160, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, MAJ (RET) Montgomery J. Granger. That is, if you care.
There Are 40 Men Still Held at Guantanamo Bay As "Forever Prisoners"
Posted from teenvogue.com
Guantanamo Bay
War on Terror
Terrorism
Law
Posted 6 y ago
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Thank you, Sir, both for taking the time to read and share your thoughts about my piece, and -- much more importantly -- for having the courage to serve our nation. We certainly disagree about what Gitmo is and about some of the men held there, and my guess is that we're each right about some things and wrong about others. I would like to respond to a few specific points:
(1) You describe Lakhdar Boumediene and Mustafa Ait Idir as "unlawful combatant Islamist detainees," and I think it's worth noting that the Bush-appointed judge and numerous others who reviewed their case concluded otherwise.
(2) You said that I present "my version of Gitmo" to my students "as fact." I actually stress to my students that I'm sharing the stories of two men who I consider friends; that I am of course biased; and that they should seek out information from as many different sources as possible. I've compiled a long list of Gitmo-related books and articles, and your book is on it. While I certainly disagree with some of the conclusions you reach, I hope all of my students -- and everyone else -- reads your book. I don't need them to agree with me; I just want them to pay attention to the issue.
(3) You describe my students as "young impressionable minds." My students are some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, independent-minded, and skeptical -- in the best way -- people you'll meet. They are the opposite of impressionable. They're more than capable of thinking for themselves and deciding what to make of the stories that they hear.
(4) You mentioned that I "left out some facts" about Lakhdar and Mustafa's background. I firmly believe, based on everything I've read, heard, and witnessed, that you are completely wrong about some of those "facts." But people don't have to agree with me; my hope is that people will read as much as they can about Lakhdar and Mustafa's case and draw their own conclusions for themselves.
Finally, I hope that going forward our nation will strive to treat everyone we detain humanely and justly. Even if we disagree about whether we've done so in the past, I hope we can agree that we should do so in the future.
(1) You describe Lakhdar Boumediene and Mustafa Ait Idir as "unlawful combatant Islamist detainees," and I think it's worth noting that the Bush-appointed judge and numerous others who reviewed their case concluded otherwise.
(2) You said that I present "my version of Gitmo" to my students "as fact." I actually stress to my students that I'm sharing the stories of two men who I consider friends; that I am of course biased; and that they should seek out information from as many different sources as possible. I've compiled a long list of Gitmo-related books and articles, and your book is on it. While I certainly disagree with some of the conclusions you reach, I hope all of my students -- and everyone else -- reads your book. I don't need them to agree with me; I just want them to pay attention to the issue.
(3) You describe my students as "young impressionable minds." My students are some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, independent-minded, and skeptical -- in the best way -- people you'll meet. They are the opposite of impressionable. They're more than capable of thinking for themselves and deciding what to make of the stories that they hear.
(4) You mentioned that I "left out some facts" about Lakhdar and Mustafa's background. I firmly believe, based on everything I've read, heard, and witnessed, that you are completely wrong about some of those "facts." But people don't have to agree with me; my hope is that people will read as much as they can about Lakhdar and Mustafa's case and draw their own conclusions for themselves.
Finally, I hope that going forward our nation will strive to treat everyone we detain humanely and justly. Even if we disagree about whether we've done so in the past, I hope we can agree that we should do so in the future.
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MAJ Montgomery Granger
I agree with your last statement and take into advisement most of everything else. I thank you for your kind support. What I hope your students learn is that there are three sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth. I avoid saying my story is "the truth," because it is only my reality. A third person will get the best view, but only if they scrutinize the evidence dispassionately. I can ONLY see things from my perspective. I went into the Gitmo mission with my eyes wide open. I kept a journal and knew what I was observing and doing was history in the making. Beyond self-awareness, I was doing what I was doing for posterity. Still only my view, but together with other views might make more sense a step or two away, like a Matisse painting; up close it's just a bunch of colorful brush strokes, but with distance grows clarity. As I like to say, my story is a small piece to a big puzzle that is the enigma we call Gitmo. I am indebted to you for challenging my view. I did not want to read your book, as I was happy and satisfied with my point of view only. I was not surprised by the lives and families and feelings of your men. It is easy to view detainees as heartless murderers and less than human beings, but as professionals and human beings ourselves we were duty-bound to treat them with dignity and respect, which 99.9 percent of us did 24/7/365 at Gitmo. Although I am sorry for their time away from family and for the hardships they endured, they were only just that. Victims of 9/11 are dead and cannot feel anything. For that there must be a price paid, a sum is owed. The Universe seeks, demands and receives balance, and your two friends have paid for some of it, I have paid for some of it, and even you, with your commitment to telling their story have made personal sacrifices, and have paid some of it. We will all continue to pay until our time is up. Will it have made a difference? What lessons are there at Gitmo that we still need to learn? I think the lessons are from the other side, the lessons from the dedicated US military personnel who have served and are serving there. Some of the finest military personnel on planet earth, yet now changed forever by a mission like no other. FYI - I am in contact with Mohammedou Ould Salahi, former Gitmo detainee and author of "Guantanamo Diary." He and I exchanged books (try getting a book to Mauritania!). I haven't read his yet and have the same foreboding I had before reading yours. I will use the experience of reading your book to garner the courage to read his. No harm in reading, right? I guess one of the main problems I have with yours, Mohammedou and any other detainee writings is that off the bat I think they are lying to me. Why? Because that's their philosophy. Infidels don't deserve the truth. So that's a handicapping condition I bear. Thank you for your response. Best of luck! - Monty
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