Pentagon Was Warned Over Detainee's Sanity

Pentagon Ordered Officers To Treat Terror Detainees On U.S. Soil Same As Gitmo Prisoners

(AP)  A U.S. military officer warned Pentagon officials that an American detainee was being driven nearly insane by months of punishing isolation and sensory deprivation in a U.S. military brig, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

While the treatment of prisoners at detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Afghanistan and Iraq have long been the subject of human rights complaints and court scrutiny, the documents shed new light on how two American citizens and a legal U.S. resident were treated in military jails inside the United States.

The Bush administration ordered the men to be held in military jails as "enemy combatants" for years of interrogations without criminal charges, which would not have been allowed in civilian jails.

The men were interrogated by the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency, repeatedly denied access to attorneys and mail from home and contact with anyone other than guards and their interrogators. They were deprived of natural light for months and for years were forbidden even minor distractions such as a soccer ball or a dictionary.

"I will continue to do what I can to help this individual maintain his sanity, but in my opinion we're working with borrowed time," an unidentified Navy brig official wrote of prisoner Yaser Esam Hamdi in 2002. "I would like to have some form of an incentive program in place to reward him for his continued good behavior, but more so, to keep him from whacking out on me."

Yale Law School's Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic received the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by two attorneys Jonathan Freiman and Tahlia Townsend, representing another detainee, Jose Padilla. The Lowenstein group and the American Civil Liberties Union said the papers were evidence that the Bush administration violated the 5th Amendment's protections against cruel treatment. The U.S. military was ordered to treat the American prisoners the same way prisoners at Guantanamo were treated, according to the documents.

However, the Guantanamo jail was created by the Bush administration specifically to avoid allowing detainees any constitutional rights. Administration lawyers contended the Constitution did not apply outside the country.

"These documents are the first clear confirmation of what we've suspected all along, that the brig was run as a prison beyond the law. There was an effort to create a Gitmo inside the United States," Jonathan Hafetz of the ACLU's National Security Project in New York said, using the slang word for the U.S. naval facility in Cuba.

The 91 pages of e-mails and documents produced by U.S. Fleet Forces Command, which runs the military brigs in Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, S.C., detail daily decisions made about the treatment of Hamdi and Padilla, then both American citizens, and Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a legal resident. All were designated as by the White House as "illegal enemy combatants."

The paperwork show uniformed officials at the military brigs growing increasingly uncomfortable and then alarmed that they were being directed to handle their prisoners under the rules that governed Guantanamo.

The authors and recipients of the e-mails are censored from the documents. They appear to be going to either military or Pentagon legal counsel and policy offices.

The documents show that some officials at the Charleston brig were deeply skeptical about the mandate that Guantanamo rules should apply in the United States, a decision made by the defense secretary's office, according to the documents.

"You have every right to question the 'lash-up' between GTMO and Charleston - it was the first thing I ask (sic) about a year ago when I checked on board," wrote one official to another in 2006. "In a nutshell, they gave the Charleston detainee mission to (Joint Forces Command) who promptly gave it to (Fleet Forces Command) with a 'lots of luck' and nothing else."

An officer was still raising alarms about Hamdi's mental state after 14 months of jail with no contact with lawyers, his family or even other prisoners.

"I told him the last thing that I wanted to have happen was to send him anywhere from here as a 'basket case,' of use to no one, to include himself," the officer wrote in an e-mail to undisclosed government officials in June 2003. "I fear the rubber band is nearing its breaking point here and not totally confident I can keep his head in the game much longer."

The frustrated officer wrote that he had "to have the ability to exercise some discretion when I believe it best for the health and welfare of those assigned to my facility ... Know ... we are to remain consistent with the procedures that were/are in place at Camp X-Ray" a reference to the Guantanamo jail. He pointed out that imposing those conditions in the brig had a far harsher effect on his prisoners because they had no contact with any other detainees, which was allowed at Guantanamo.

Scores of pages of once-secret legal opinions regarding detainee rights and treatment have been released under the Freedom of Information Act. At least two apparently crucial memos about enemy combatant treatment inside the U.S. have yet to be made public.

Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, shipped to Guantanamo and then moved to the U.S. after his citizenship was discovered. He was held and interrogated for three years without charges. The Supreme Court in 2004 rejected the government's attempt to hold him indefinitely without charge. He was released to Saudi Arabia on the condition he give up his U.S. citizenship.

Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, was a legal resident studying for a master's degree in Illinois when he was arrested in December 2001 by the FBI as a material witness to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was charged with credit card fraud in 2002. A month before his trial in 2003, President Bush declared him an enemy combatant and al-Marri was transferred to the consolidated naval brig in Charleston. There he was held in isolation for 16 months, denied shoes and socks for two years, and was not allowed any contact with his family for five years. He remains in the military brig but is appealing his detention to the Supreme Court.

Padilla was arrested in 2002 under suspicion he was collaborating with al Qaeda to build a radioactive or "dirty" bomb. He was held as an enemy combatant for more than three years. He was held totally incommunicado for 21 months. His mother was only allowed to see Padilla after she agreed not to alert the media to the visit, according to the documents.

The government dropped the dirty bomb charges and Padilla's case was moved to civilian court where in 2007 he was convicted of supporting terrorism in Kosovo, Bosnia and Chechnya.

[impeach__w]

This Guy says it best.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/12/opinion/courtwatch/main4177296.shtml

The ruling was as predictable as it was avoidable. For the fourth time the Supreme Court has forcefully said %u201Cnot good enough%u201D to the White House and Congress when asked whether the other two branches had created rules sufficient to fully and fairly treat those now held at Guantanamo... when you employ legal shortcuts, and when those trimmings undercut the rights of men, the courts will send you back to the drawing board... The dissenting expressed concern that an already chaotic situation - has just become more so. But no one ever said that the Constitution guarantees neat and tidy results. And the blame for the chaos of the past seven years and the chaos yet to come does not rest, as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. suggested in his dissent, with his five colleagues in the Court%u2019s majority. It rests with the White House and the Congress. Both the MCA and the Detainee Treatment Act - were cobbled together in response to earlier Supreme Court decisions; both were shoved through Congress. In law, as in life, you reap what you sow. The White House sowed this ruling for years, long after the Court itself made clear, over and over again, that this is what the feds would reap. Now, who is to blame for that - and for this ruling?

[kclala]

"What so ever you do to the least of your brethren, so you do unto me."....Jesus Christ

We have become what we despise. And Bush calls himself a Christian.

[kclala]

"What so ever you do to the least of your brethren, so you do unto me."....Jesus Christ

We have become what we despise. And Bush calls himself a Christian.

[impeach__w]

please tell mewhy did japan started thier campaign to overtake asia''

Posted by libluv2spit

You must have an issue reading or understanding english Please look below and study these links for answers on the US entry into WWII.

Start here and get back to Us.

http://whatreallyhappened.com
/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/
Pentagon/6315/pearl.html

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/
McCollum/inex.html

[impeach__w]

Tell us why you are so afraid. Do you believe everything Bush says? DO You expect him or the Government to protect you? You can''t even protect yourself- If you could, you would not have live in Fear.

[impeach__w]

Um, I''m assuming you didn;t read the article so I''ll have to inform you two were US citizen and one a legal resident and all with the same constitutional rights as you or I.

[impeach__w]

4 Dec. 1941 - The Dutch invoked the ADB joint defense agreement when the Japanese crossed the magic line of 100 East and 10 North. The U.S. was at war with Japan 3 days before they were at war with us.

The US Government refuses to identify or declassify any pre-Dec 7, 1941 decrypts of JN-25 on the basis of national security, a half-century after the war.


In 1979 the NSA released 2,413 JN-25 orders of the 26,581 intercepted by US between Sept 1 and Dec 4, 1941. The NSA says "We know now that they contained important details concerning the existence, organization, objective, and even the whereabouts of the Pearl Harbor Strike Force." Of the over thousand radio messages sent by Tokyo to the attack fleet, only 20 are in the National Archives. All messages to the attack fleet were sent several times, at least one message was sent every odd hour of the day and each had a special serial number...

[impeach__w]

Tell you what.... I won''t jump your case till you''ve done your homework and still hold that view, Just ''Google'' Japans reason for starting a war with America
Posted by ToolMangler

Start here and get back to Us.

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/pearl.html

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/McCollum/index.html

The stuff the US did on this page that was not declassified until 1994! George bush has done everything Tojo was executed for. He was also executed for not doing stuff like stopping torture (like bush). The ones who actually committed war crimes, tortured and experimented on POWs, cut a deal with the US and were not tried in exchange for the medical information that was gleaned, Seriously look it up- I am not exaggerating. How long until we find out the whole truth on 9-11? For the record, We helped (planned) get ourselves into WWI, WWII, and vietnam despite what you learned in school. There are no good guys- especially in "war"

[toolmangler-2009]

Go here, read this, Then you will see why we invaded Iraq and might not stop there.


http://www.threeworldwars.com/world-war-2/ww2.htm

[toolmangler-2009]

oh i got your point..BUT YOU JUST FORGOT to add the brutality THAT proves your point..respect and understanding came in ONLY AFTER they had this skins sliding of thier bodies..
meaning its not like all of a sudden tojo and roosevelt woke up one morning and decided to shake hands because they were fed up with warfare..SOMEONE NEEDS TO GET HURT to gain respect and understanding

Posted by libluv2cnsor at 06:40 PM : Oct 08, 2008



Tell you what.... I won''t jump your case till you''ve done your homework and still hold that view, Just ''Google'' Japans reason for starting a war with America for

[libluv2cnsor]

Yes. I have always gotten it, it is you that never ''''got'''' my first statement. If you had, you never would have repeated my point with so many useless words



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Posted by ToolMangler at 06:28 PM : Oct 08, 2008
+ report abuse

*****

oh i got your point..BUT YOU JUST FORGOT to add the brutality THAT proves your point..respect and understanding came in ONLY AFTER they had this skins sliding of thier bodies..

meaning its not like all of a sudden tojo and roosevelt woke up one morning and decided to shake hands because they were fed up with warfare..SOMEONE NEEDS TO GET HURT to gain respect and understanding

[libluv2cnsor]

So, How do you want me to call you??



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Posted by ToolMangler at 06:30 PM : Oct 08, 2008
+ report abuse

*********

call me an american

[libluv2cnsor]

Posted by impeach__W at 05:14 PM : Oct 08, 2008
+ report abuse

*******************

listen...these guys were not arrested as ''gang members who held up a liquor store'' but these guys are known members of an organization that is labeled ''enemy of the state''..thus making them enemy combatants..in which they are detainees..(meaning open for interrogation as long as we want toe extract information to SAVE YOU). now I know that several liberals demanded that this moved to federal level instead of the military bringing in justices RESERVED for ''people who rob liquor stores'' who are entitled to lawyers, mail, guests, etc etc..

they are part of a war against us JUST LIKE THE GERMAN NAZIS meaning if they caught one..you would not see that docket scheduled after a ''divorce'' case in some court...DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT..

its people like you that twist this protocal to thier advantage.

[toolmangler-2009]

BTW..ori
ental is a disrespectful way to call an asian..(just another heads up)
Posted by libluv2cnsor at 06:25 PM : Oct 08, 2008




So, How do you want me to call you??

[toolmangler-2009]

are you getting this now?
Posted by libluv2cnsor at 06:24 PM : Oct 08, 2008



Yes. I have always gotten it, it is you that never ''got'' my first statement. If you had, you never would have repeated my point with so many useless words

[libluv2cnsor]

Posted by ToolMangler at 06:19 PM : Oct 08, 2008
+ report abuse
*******************


BTW..oriental is a disrespectful way to call an asian..(just another heads up)

[libluv2cnsor]

The war between Japan and America was stopped by Japans understanding of our ability to make the entire nation a glowing piece of green glass and their respect for our ''''not'''' having done so after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (No disrespect intended for my oriental brothers)


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Posted by ToolMangler at 06:19 PM : Oct 08, 2008
+ report abuse
*******************

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH wait HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

japan fought to the last man in iwo jima..we lost tons of american lives and so did the japanese..WE USE DID NOT THREATEN the japanese with the bomb BUT WE USED THE BOMB..

we bombed on of the cities in japan..but they refuse..THEN WE BOMB THE SECOND ONE..

then..only then..again that was when japan finally realized that they cannot fight us with muscle..AND THEN THEY RESPECT US because THEY UNDERSTOOD..that we would bomb some more..

are you getting this now?

[toolmangler-2009]

REALLY???? brings back the same question..name one war that was ended by ''respect and understanding''.

Posted by libluv2cnsor at 04:30 PM : Oct 08, 2008



The war between Japan and America was stopped by Japans understanding of our ability to make the entire nation a glowing piece of green glass and their respect for our ''not'' having done so after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (No disrespect intended for my oriental brothers)

[impeach__w]

One more thing - if a POW was subjected to this treatment it would be a war crime. Read about TOJO; he was executed after WWII for not doing enough to prevent maltreatment of our POWs. Most of the actual actors in the war crimes were never charged

[impeach__w]

they are detainees...they are prisoner of war..they are not american citizens..

let me ask you this..if they are innocent..do you want them relocated next door from your house??

Posted by libluv2cnsor

Read the article agian please! Two of them were american citizens and one was a legal resident. All had the same rights as you or I under the constitution. Bush declared them enemy combatants which he cannot do as citizens have rights under the same document that gives the president his power even in "wartime" and which he swore to protect- THE COSTITUTION and its amendments.

I already posted they and the chinese guys should be released into Bush''s, Cheney''s and Rumfield''s neighborhoods and allowed to buy guns.