Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Peak oil

2007-09-11T15:07:54Z

TheAgency: Recent GAO report - peak oil between now and 2040

'''Peak Oil''' is the theoretical point when peak global oil production will have been reached. According to some scientists, global oil production will begin an irreversible decline and less oil will be available with every passing year. Energy experts no longer debate about whether the peak will occur, but when.<ref name=Fox20060428>Ker Than [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193624,00.html Experts: Global Oil Production May Peak Soon] April 28, 2006 [[Fox News]]</ref>

Global oil production will peak sometime between 2008 and 2018 and then decline, according to a controversial new model developed Swedish University of Uppsalla physicist Fredrik Robelius.<ref name=Fox20060418>Melinda Wenner [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266764,00.html Study: 'Peak Oil' Will Be Reached by 2018] April 18, 2007 [[Fox News]]</ref> According to a recent U.S. Government GAO report, world oil production will peak between now and 2040<ref>[http://www.energybulletin.net/28016.html Coverage of the GAO peak oil report] Energy Bulletin, Mar 29, 2007</ref>

==Additional oil resources==
Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, an energy consultancy firm, says "Not much can be said about additional oil resources because we haven't really started looking for them yet." <ref name=Fox20060418/> There is likely to be a lot of oil in as-yet undiscovered smaller fields.

==New Technologies==
New technologies could help solve extraction problems according to Sam Kazman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a non-profit public policy think tank in Washington, D.C.<ref name=Fox20060418/> New technologies have already turned fields that once seemed to be dormant into steady supplies of oil.

==Rejection of theory==
Exxon's Australia chief, Mark Nolan, told an industry conference in Adelaide, Australia, that "the end of oil is nowhere in sight." Mr. Nolan cited a U.S. Geological Survey estimate of more than three trillion barrels of conventional recoverable oil resources, of which one trillion barrels has been produced. Conservative estimates of heavy-oil and shale-oil resources push the total to four trillion barrels, while a 10% increase in recoverability will deliver an extra 800 billion barrels according to Nolan.<ref name=MailTrib20060914>Bhushan Bahree and Jeffrey Ball [http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0914/biz/stories/wsj-peakoil.htm Some insiders reject 'peak-oil theory'] September 14, 2006 [[Mail Tribune]]</ref>

==Maybe not "Fossil Fuel"==
Thomas Gold at Cornell University, assert that the sources of oil may not be “fossil fuels” in limited supply, but instead [[Abiotic oil|abiotic]] in nature (meaning not produced by a life process). According to Professor Gold, oil is produced by an abiogenic process, deep within the earth. The scientific community has not been eager to affirm this thesis. In fact, they tend to resist it. In 1992 Gold published a paper titled “The Deep Hot Biosphere.” In this paper he suggested that oil is non-biologically produced, deep within the earth. In other words, oil is not a fossil fuel. The Department of Energy refused to fund his research although both outcomes would have been good - If the research uncovered sources of oil that did not take millions of years to produce, it would be a bonanza for oil companies . If abiogenic petroleum sources are found to be abundant, it would mean Earth contains vast reserves of untapped petroleum. On the other hand, if his research failed, this research proposal will contribute strongly to fundamental science in petroleum engineering. So far, the DOE has refused to fund any of his research because it is counter to the mainstream effort.<ref>J. R. Nyquist [http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2006/0508.html Debunking Peak Oil] May 8, 2006 [[Geopolitical]].</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T14:51:30Z

TheAgency:

[[Image:050127 guantanamo hmed 12p hmedium.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
The '''Guantanamo Bay detention camp''' is a military [[prison]] of the [[United States of America]] on the southeastern tip of the island of [[Cuba]]. In this prison, suspected terrorists are held indefinitely without charge, trial or a right to counsel.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201315,00.html Official: Gitmo Prisoners Wage 'Jihad' in Cuba] [[Fox News]], June 28, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123996,00.html Mixed Rulings on Terror Detention Policies] [[Fox News]], June 28, 2004</ref> The [[liberal]] organization [[Center for Constitutional Rights]] is organizing attorneys to file [[habeas corpus]] petitions in the Washington, D.C., federal court on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. <ref>[http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=pQOvjcVXXK&Content=406 First post-Supreme Court habeas petitions filed on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay], [[Center for Constitutional Rights]], 2004</ref>

On April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by a group of detainees of this camp, with the majority stating that it would be inappropriate to rule until the group had exhausted other remedies.<ref>[[Withdraw of Jurisdiction Upheld - Original Work|Supreme Court rules against detainees]]</ref><ref>Congressional Research Service Report [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33180.pdf Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court], updated April 6, 2007.</ref>

== Guantanamo Bay ==

Guantanamo Bay is a coastal area on southeastern [[Cuba]] occupied and controlled by the United States government pursuant to a 1903 Lease Agreement with the newly independent Republic of Cuba subsequent to the Spanish-American War. The Agreement established that:<ref>''Rasul v. Bush'', 542 U.S. 466 (2004) (quoting lease).</ref>

:"the United States recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the [leased areas]," but "the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the United States . . . the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas."

In 1934 the United States and Cuba entered into another treaty that provided that, absent an agreement to modify or abrogate the lease, it would remain in effect "[s]o long as the United States of America shall not abandon the . . . naval station of Guantanamo."<ref>''Id.''</ref>

== Detention Camp ==

Due to security concerns the media has not been given access to the detention center, and the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration has said that interrogations are vital tools for winning the [[War on Terror]]<ref>"The president said the legislation must allow the [[CIA]]’s interrogation program to continue. "The information the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] has obtained by questioning men like [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned strikes inside the [[United States]] and on a U.S. Marine base in [[East Africa]], an American consulate in [[Pakistan]], and Britain's [[Heathrow Airport]]," Bush said "This CIA program has saved American lives, and the lives of people in other countries.”" [http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060916101245esnamfuak0.5314905] </ref> There have, however, been a number of accusations of the use of [[torture]], and some detainees are believed to have been brought in via [[extraordinary rendition]]. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,1981955,00.html]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=377623&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3706050.stm]</ref> Majid Khan, a native of Pakistan is suspected of providing material support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorism, transporting people across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and expressing a desire to assassinate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by suicide attack. Khan submitted a “statement of torture" at a combatant status review tribunal hearing, claiming he was mentally tortured during his detainment. Among his complaints were that he and other detainees were given low-quality soap and other toiletries, noisy fans and deflated balls for recreation that hardly bounced. Khan testified he had refused to eat or drink, and complained that his captors responded by force-feeding intravenously. <ref> [http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/FrontPage%20Stories/Evidence%20Links%20‘High-Value’%20Detainee%20to%20Al%20Qaeda.aspx Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda], By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, May 15, 2007. </ref>

In another case, some 22 Chinese Muslim detainees have been cleared of all wrong doing, but have been held in the prison camp for more than five years. The Bush administration fears they will face persecution if they are returned home, so they continue to stay in prison, having committed no crime. <ref>Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/05/30/2003157526</ref><ref>Jurist http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/us-asks-germany-to-take-chinese.php</ref>

*The Australian [[David Hicks]] has been held in the camp for over five years. He was originally charged with "conspiracy, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy." <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/d20040610cs.pdf Hicks' original charge sheet</ref> but these charges were dropped "after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization." <ref>http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/us-re-charging-guantanamo-detainees.php Some background on the charge process</ref> He was later charged with "providing material support of terrorism" and "attempted murder in violation of the law of war" - the latter charge was also dropped. <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20070301hicks.pdf The Hicks Charge Sheet</ref> <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-knew-fight-was-wrong/2007/03/26/1174761313462.html</ref>. On March 26, 2007 David Hicks pleaded guilty to the charge. "A prisoner exchange agreement between Australia and the US means Hicks will be allowed to serve out any remaining prison time in Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today."<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-pleads-guilty/2007/03/27/1174761414531.html</ref> News reports after the trial stated that "Hicks has pleaded guilty to only one of two counts under the charge. It says that, in Afghanistan during 2000 and 2001, he provided material support for al-Qaeda, which was engaged in terrorism against the US. He pleaded not guilty to a second count that said he provided material support or resources "to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, an act of terrorism". <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/short-jail-term-tipped-for-hicks/2007/03/28/1174761567951.html Short Jail Term Tipped For Hicks</ref> 
Hicks was sentenced to another seven years in prison by the Military Commision panel but a pre-trial plea bargain drastically cut that sentence. He will spend the last seven months of his sentence in an Australian prison, Yatala Labour Prison. Hicks arrived back in Australia on May 20, 2007. He is due for release from prison in Adelaide, South Australia, in late December, 2007.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-elated-after-long-journey-home/2007/05/20/1179601242787.html Elated to be in solitary confinement</ref> He is not permitted, under the terms of his plea bargain, to speak with any media for 12 months. <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-will-be-free-by-new-year/2007/03/30/1174761754698.html Hicks Will Be Free By New Year</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/ Naval Station Website]
*[http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/ Joint Task Force Website]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf List of detainees at Guatanamo Bay]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/ US Dept of Defence site]
*[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118217520339739055.html?mod=mm_main_promo_left The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher]

*[http://www.fairgofordavid.org/ Another David Hicks site]

[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Military]]

Center for Constitutional Rights

2007-09-11T14:50:45Z

TheAgency:

The '''Center for Constitutional Rights''' describe themselves as the premiere legal institution of the [[progressive]] movement. Their mission is "committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change." <ref>[http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/about/mission_vision.asp CCR: About us]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Center for Constitutional Rights

2007-09-11T14:49:31Z

TheAgency: initial creation of stub

The '''Center for Constitutional Rights''' describes themselves as the premiere legal institution of the progressive movement. Their mission is "committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change." <ref>[http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/about/mission_vision.asp CCR: About us]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T14:40:27Z

TheAgency: providing full references

[[Image:050127 guantanamo hmed 12p hmedium.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
The '''Guantanamo Bay detention camp''' is a military [[prison]] of the [[United States of America]] on the southeastern tip of the island of [[Cuba]]. In this prison, suspected terrorists are held indefinitely without charge, trial or a right to counsel.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201315,00.html Official: Gitmo Prisoners Wage 'Jihad' in Cuba] [[Fox News]], June 28, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123996,00.html Mixed Rulings on Terror Detention Policies] [[Fox News]], June 28, 2004</ref> The [[liberal]] organization Center for Constitutional Rights is organizing attorneys to file [[habeas corpus]] petitions in the Washington, D.C., federal court on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. <ref>[http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=pQOvjcVXXK&Content=406 First post-Supreme Court habeas petitions filed on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay], [[Center for Constitutional Rights]], 2004</ref>

On April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by a group of detainees of this camp, with the majority stating that it would be inappropriate to rule until the group had exhausted other remedies.<ref>[[Withdraw of Jurisdiction Upheld - Original Work|Supreme Court rules against detainees]]</ref><ref>Congressional Research Service Report [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33180.pdf Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court], updated April 6, 2007.</ref>

== Guantanamo Bay ==

Guantanamo Bay is a coastal area on southeastern [[Cuba]] occupied and controlled by the United States government pursuant to a 1903 Lease Agreement with the newly independent Republic of Cuba subsequent to the Spanish-American War. The Agreement established that:<ref>''Rasul v. Bush'', 542 U.S. 466 (2004) (quoting lease).</ref>

:"the United States recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the [leased areas]," but "the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the United States . . . the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas."

In 1934 the United States and Cuba entered into another treaty that provided that, absent an agreement to modify or abrogate the lease, it would remain in effect "[s]o long as the United States of America shall not abandon the . . . naval station of Guantanamo."<ref>''Id.''</ref>

== Detention Camp ==

Due to security concerns the media has not been given access to the detention center, and the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration has said that interrogations are vital tools for winning the [[War on Terror]]<ref>"The president said the legislation must allow the [[CIA]]’s interrogation program to continue. "The information the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] has obtained by questioning men like [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned strikes inside the [[United States]] and on a U.S. Marine base in [[East Africa]], an American consulate in [[Pakistan]], and Britain's [[Heathrow Airport]]," Bush said "This CIA program has saved American lives, and the lives of people in other countries.”" [http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060916101245esnamfuak0.5314905] </ref> There have, however, been a number of accusations of the use of [[torture]], and some detainees are believed to have been brought in via [[extraordinary rendition]]. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,1981955,00.html]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=377623&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3706050.stm]</ref> Majid Khan, a native of Pakistan is suspected of providing material support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorism, transporting people across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and expressing a desire to assassinate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by suicide attack. Khan submitted a “statement of torture" at a combatant status review tribunal hearing, claiming he was mentally tortured during his detainment. Among his complaints were that he and other detainees were given low-quality soap and other toiletries, noisy fans and deflated balls for recreation that hardly bounced. Khan testified he had refused to eat or drink, and complained that his captors responded by force-feeding intravenously. <ref> [http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/FrontPage%20Stories/Evidence%20Links%20‘High-Value’%20Detainee%20to%20Al%20Qaeda.aspx Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda], By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, May 15, 2007. </ref>

In another case, some 22 Chinese Muslim detainees have been cleared of all wrong doing, but have been held in the prison camp for more than five years. The Bush administration fears they will face persecution if they are returned home, so they continue to stay in prison, having committed no crime. <ref>Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/05/30/2003157526</ref><ref>Jurist http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/us-asks-germany-to-take-chinese.php</ref>

*The Australian [[David Hicks]] has been held in the camp for over five years. He was originally charged with "conspiracy, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy." <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/d20040610cs.pdf Hicks' original charge sheet</ref> but these charges were dropped "after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization." <ref>http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/us-re-charging-guantanamo-detainees.php Some background on the charge process</ref> He was later charged with "providing material support of terrorism" and "attempted murder in violation of the law of war" - the latter charge was also dropped. <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20070301hicks.pdf The Hicks Charge Sheet</ref> <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-knew-fight-was-wrong/2007/03/26/1174761313462.html</ref>. On March 26, 2007 David Hicks pleaded guilty to the charge. "A prisoner exchange agreement between Australia and the US means Hicks will be allowed to serve out any remaining prison time in Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today."<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-pleads-guilty/2007/03/27/1174761414531.html</ref> News reports after the trial stated that "Hicks has pleaded guilty to only one of two counts under the charge. It says that, in Afghanistan during 2000 and 2001, he provided material support for al-Qaeda, which was engaged in terrorism against the US. He pleaded not guilty to a second count that said he provided material support or resources "to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, an act of terrorism". <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/short-jail-term-tipped-for-hicks/2007/03/28/1174761567951.html Short Jail Term Tipped For Hicks</ref> 
Hicks was sentenced to another seven years in prison by the Military Commision panel but a pre-trial plea bargain drastically cut that sentence. He will spend the last seven months of his sentence in an Australian prison, Yatala Labour Prison. Hicks arrived back in Australia on May 20, 2007. He is due for release from prison in Adelaide, South Australia, in late December, 2007.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-elated-after-long-journey-home/2007/05/20/1179601242787.html Elated to be in solitary confinement</ref> He is not permitted, under the terms of his plea bargain, to speak with any media for 12 months. <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-will-be-free-by-new-year/2007/03/30/1174761754698.html Hicks Will Be Free By New Year</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/ Naval Station Website]
*[http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/ Joint Task Force Website]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf List of detainees at Guatanamo Bay]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/ US Dept of Defence site]
*[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118217520339739055.html?mod=mm_main_promo_left The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher]

*[http://www.fairgofordavid.org/ Another David Hicks site]

[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Military]]

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T14:24:48Z

TheAgency: added title to reference

[[Image:050127 guantanamo hmed 12p hmedium.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
The '''Guantanamo Bay detention camp''' is a military [[prison]] of the [[United States of America]] on the southeastern tip of the island of [[Cuba]]. In this prison, suspected terrorists are held indefinitely without charge, trial or a right to counsel.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201315,00.html Official: Gitmo Prisoners Wage 'Jihad' in Cuba</ref><ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123996,00.html Mixed Rulings on Terror Detention Policies</ref> The [[liberal]] organization Center for Constitutional Rights is organizing attorneys to file [[habeas corpus]] petitions in the Washington, D.C., federal court on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. <ref>http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=pQOvjcVXXK&Content=406 First post-Supreme Court habeas petitions filed on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay</ref>

On April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by a group of detainees of this camp, with the majority stating that it would be inappropriate to rule until the group had exhausted other remedies.<ref>[[Withdraw of Jurisdiction Upheld - Original Work|Supreme Court rules against detainees]]</ref><ref>Congressional Research Service Report [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33180.pdf Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court], updated April 6, 2007.</ref>

== Guantanamo Bay ==

Guantanamo Bay is a coastal area on southeastern [[Cuba]] occupied and controlled by the United States government pursuant to a 1903 Lease Agreement with the newly independent Republic of Cuba subsequent to the Spanish-American War. The Agreement established that:<ref>''Rasul v. Bush'', 542 U.S. 466 (2004) (quoting lease).</ref>

:"the United States recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the [leased areas]," but "the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the United States . . . the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas."

In 1934 the United States and Cuba entered into another treaty that provided that, absent an agreement to modify or abrogate the lease, it would remain in effect "[s]o long as the United States of America shall not abandon the . . . naval station of Guantanamo."<ref>''Id.''</ref>

== Detention Camp ==

Due to security concerns the media has not been given access to the detention center, and the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration has said that interrogations are vital tools for winning the [[War on Terror]]<ref>"The president said the legislation must allow the [[CIA]]’s interrogation program to continue. "The information the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] has obtained by questioning men like [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned strikes inside the [[United States]] and on a U.S. Marine base in [[East Africa]], an American consulate in [[Pakistan]], and Britain's [[Heathrow Airport]]," Bush said "This CIA program has saved American lives, and the lives of people in other countries.”" [http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060916101245esnamfuak0.5314905] </ref> There have, however, been a number of accusations of the use of [[torture]], and some detainees are believed to have been brought in via [[extraordinary rendition]]. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,1981955,00.html]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=377623&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3706050.stm]</ref> Majid Khan, a native of Pakistan is suspected of providing material support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorism, transporting people across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and expressing a desire to assassinate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by suicide attack. Khan submitted a “statement of torture" at a combatant status review tribunal hearing, claiming he was mentally tortured during his detainment. Among his complaints were that he and other detainees were given low-quality soap and other toiletries, noisy fans and deflated balls for recreation that hardly bounced. Khan testified he had refused to eat or drink, and complained that his captors responded by force-feeding intravenously. <ref> [http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/FrontPage%20Stories/Evidence%20Links%20‘High-Value’%20Detainee%20to%20Al%20Qaeda.aspx Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda], By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, May 15, 2007. </ref>

In another case, some 22 Chinese Muslim detainees have been cleared of all wrong doing, but have been held in the prison camp for more than five years. The Bush administration fears they will face persecution if they are returned home, so they continue to stay in prison, having committed no crime. <ref>Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/05/30/2003157526</ref><ref>Jurist http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/us-asks-germany-to-take-chinese.php</ref>

*The Australian [[David Hicks]] has been held in the camp for over five years. He was originally charged with "conspiracy, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy." <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/d20040610cs.pdf Hicks' original charge sheet</ref> but these charges were dropped "after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization." <ref>http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/us-re-charging-guantanamo-detainees.php Some background on the charge process</ref> He was later charged with "providing material support of terrorism" and "attempted murder in violation of the law of war" - the latter charge was also dropped. <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20070301hicks.pdf The Hicks Charge Sheet</ref> <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-knew-fight-was-wrong/2007/03/26/1174761313462.html</ref>. On March 26, 2007 David Hicks pleaded guilty to the charge. "A prisoner exchange agreement between Australia and the US means Hicks will be allowed to serve out any remaining prison time in Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today."<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-pleads-guilty/2007/03/27/1174761414531.html</ref> News reports after the trial stated that "Hicks has pleaded guilty to only one of two counts under the charge. It says that, in Afghanistan during 2000 and 2001, he provided material support for al-Qaeda, which was engaged in terrorism against the US. He pleaded not guilty to a second count that said he provided material support or resources "to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, an act of terrorism". <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/short-jail-term-tipped-for-hicks/2007/03/28/1174761567951.html Short Jail Term Tipped For Hicks</ref> 
Hicks was sentenced to another seven years in prison by the Military Commision panel but a pre-trial plea bargain drastically cut that sentence. He will spend the last seven months of his sentence in an Australian prison, Yatala Labour Prison. Hicks arrived back in Australia on May 20, 2007. He is due for release from prison in Adelaide, South Australia, in late December, 2007.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-elated-after-long-journey-home/2007/05/20/1179601242787.html Elated to be in solitary confinement</ref> He is not permitted, under the terms of his plea bargain, to speak with any media for 12 months. <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-will-be-free-by-new-year/2007/03/30/1174761754698.html Hicks Will Be Free By New Year</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/ Naval Station Website]
*[http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/ Joint Task Force Website]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf List of detainees at Guatanamo Bay]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/ US Dept of Defence site]
*[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118217520339739055.html?mod=mm_main_promo_left The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher]

*[http://www.fairgofordavid.org/ Another David Hicks site]

[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Military]]

Talk:Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T14:21:14Z

TheAgency: /* Held without charges? */

AustinM: Please provide a {{cite}} for this inclusion,
:''Some liberal groups have accused the US of practicing [[torture]] at Gitmo, such as cold-hot shock rooms, electrical shocks, simulated drowning, food and water deprivation, chaining, forced walking on broken glass and barbed wire, and psychological torture.''
Thank you. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:00, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

It's not just liberals who have made the accusation either.--[[User:Murray|Murray]] 13:06, 16 March 2007 (EDT)
:Yes, that is precisely what i'm driving at. Why is the term liberal used here then coupled with an innuendo for "non-liberals", preesumably? [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:20, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

==Word usage==

Cut:

: Some human rights groups and other activists claim the US has practiced [[torture]], such as cold-hot shock rooms, electrical shocks, simulated drowning, food and water deprivation, chaining, forced walking on broken glass and barbed wire, and psychological torture.[http://web.amnesty.org/pages/stoptorture-reallives-eng] As torture is illegal in the US and in nearly all other nations in the world, the camp is critisized by governments around the world.

The US opposes torture, but not all the things listed in the passage above are "torture". There have been attempts (almostly entirely by political opponents of Bush's Iraq policy) to change the legal definition of torture.

I suppose that this a a strategy. Instead of having two classes of forbidden interrogation techniques (1) torture, which is simply uncivilized and (2) "excessive roughness" (for lack of a better word) - these advocates make the following argument:

#torture is bad
#we must not do what is bad
#rough interrogation techniques are torture
#therefor. they are bad and we must not do them

The Bush administration agrees that '''some''' [[coercive interrogation]] techniques are bad, but refuses to concede that they are examples of "torture".

This passage needs to be fixed:
*Do not say that the listed techniques '''are''' torture but that advocates '''consider them''' to be torture or "want them to be classified legally as torture" or "have been trying to get the word 'torture' redefined".
*Distinguish between [[rough interrogation]] techniques that the US acknowledges having done and those it asserts it has not done
*Also distinguish between such techniques the US agrees are "torture" or "too rough" and those it insists on continuing to use, such as [[waterboarding]].
*Mention that there is a controversy over whether frightening a prisoner is always torture, tantamount to torture, or just rather clever.

Other ideas that need mentioning are:
*The efficacy of [[coercive interrogation]]: is it useful to gain evidence for legal proceedings, or does it just help to stop terrorists from carrying out their next operation, or what?

Moreover, we should distinguish between US Liberal and Conservative positions on this, rather than using weasel words like "has been criticized" or "some groups and activists claim".

There's also the perennial problem of classifying various advocates. Is Human Rights Watch liberal? How about Amnesty International? Many liberals and liberal groups do not admit to being liberal, a trend that began with Michael Dukakis protesting the "L-word" a quarter century ago. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 08:31, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

:Good analysis. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:54, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

Here is some more analysis:
*Liberals generally say that the Geneva protections for POWs "applies" (or "should apply") to these people.

Usually the word this as, "The Geneva conventions apply to the gitmo detainees, but the US ..." This is deceptive, because both the US (and these partisans) are in agreement on one thing and in disagreement on another thing:
*They agree that the US is bound by the Geneva Conventions
*They agree that the Geneva Conventions "apply" to anyone captured in a combat zone
*Prisoners should not be "tortured"
But:
*They disagree on whether stateless persons, not wearing uniforms, etc. are entitled to "POW status".

POWs get all sorts of special privileges, because they are citizens of another country which is a party to the Geneva Conventions. Geneva isn't a universal code of human rights, but an treaty between nations. Warring nations who want to settle disputes with force but don't seek the total destruction of their enemies - in other words, civilized countries - agree to limit their war tactics. We don't mistreat your civilians and POWs, and you don't mistreat ours. But uniformed men on the battlefield are fair game. (Think of the gangs in West Side Story agreeing that the gym is neutral territory, leaving girls out of it, choosing where to have a big fight, etc.)

Spies get nothing. Stateless people get nothing. Nothing special, I mean. The legal and diplomatic goodies due POWs are reserved for a specified class.

Remind me to move all this into some article like:
*[[Prisoner of war]]
*[[unlawful combatant]]
*[[Geneva Conventions]]
*[[Laws of war]]

Okay, gotta go. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 20:43, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

:Another thing: the Gitmo detainees are '''''at war with''''' the Geneva Convention. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 20:56, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

: Let's look at David Hicks, a citizen of Australia. There is nothing stateless about that, other than the fact that the Australian government tends to disown you if you upset the Bush administration. Most of the photos I have seen of him in Afgahnistan have him wearing a uniform. He, in his mind, believed he was fighting for the freedom of an oppressed people who had been invaded by other countries. In some ways very similar to any resistance fighter in Europe in WW II except they didn't wear uniforms. You do need to ask why the US won't bring those people for trial on US territory - are they afraid that then they will have to apply US or International Treaty law instead of Bush Law? --[[User:Bilby|Bilby]] 18:07, 29 March 2007 (EDT)

==David Hicks==

Bilby, I don't get where you're going with the Hicks trial. Are you saying he's innocent; that he's guilty but the law should be changed; that he was a terrorist but terrorism isn't bad; that he did a bad thing but shouldn't be punished because the law wasn't in place; or what?

It doesn't seem like a balanced entry at all; are you trying consciously to make it trustworthy? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 19:13, 26 March 2007 (EDT)
: All I have added is the run down of what has happened at the trial so far today. As far as I can see it is a factual account of what occured in recent hours. His guilt is for the court to decide. There is a lot of debate about the charge as it is being used retrospectively. Although American law had that charge since Oklahoma, the military law didn't. It was put in place and then he was charged with it a couple of months ago after five years in jail without charge. These are just facts. How they are to be interpreted is up to history but America is not winning friends around the world by treating people like this!--[[User:Bilby|Bilby]] 19:18, 26 March 2007 (EDT)

::The most significant part of that is the ''ex post facto'' law. Or the claim about it. Can you source the claim? And also dig into it, find out what the US says about that claim.

::Handling breaking news is touchy. Are you sure you can handle it neutrally? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 20:54, 26 March 2007 (EDT)

:::"neutrally" is always an interesting word. I have a bias, all writers do. But I know it and am trying to report "facts" as I receive them through a variety of media. I could add a quote from St Helen Prejean ""Guantanamo Bay is an abhorrent aberration of everything that my country ought to be about," she said in Sydney yesterday. "I think it's because we do execute people. It just so smacks of empire." " but recognise that it contains a bias which would not be accepted by this site - it would get edited away very quickly as being not sourced correctly, or being too opinionated - but only because the "neutral" editors have their own bias. The TV reports today claimed that David Hicks was asked if he could speak English or if he needed an interpreter - his response was that he might be difficult to understand because he spoke Australian English. I reported the first half, you edited it and reported the second. Perhaps we should wait for the trial transcript and just put that intstead - if it is ever published.

If there are two halves, and you and I each reported only one half, does that make us both half-witted? ;-) Please put in both halves. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 15:01, 27 March 2007 (EDT)

So David Hicks has pleaded guilty? To ONE charge of providing material support for "terrorism"? A charge at the very lowest end of the scale, and one which could be levelled at any partisan who has ever had a rebel leader doss down under their roof. And the sleek lawyers and obese pigs of the gutter press in Australia are taking this as confirmation of his evil, and crowing about it from every tabloid. Needless to say, they (and I imagine most of us) would have been pleading guilty to personally ordering the attack on 9/11 after ONE WEEK of the treatment being dished out at Gitters. And Hicks has been there, without charge, for five years! Shame on you all! Note, there are NO British or American prisoners there. The Brits demanded theirs back, and the Yanks put theirs on trial. Only Hicks, who was a hero in Bosnia, and who has never killed anyone, is rotting in this filthy jail. Oh yes, he was in cahoots with Osama. Well, news flash, punters. This was BEFORE 9/11, and your President was in bed not with Osama, but with the whole stinking family of them. Free David Hicks, say I! MylesP is my page here.
Email: myles325@yahoo.com.au

== What about this? ==

"Guantánamo has become a major, major problem ... in the way the world perceives America and if it were up to me I would close Guantánamo not tomorrow but this afternoon ... and I would not let any of those people go. I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system", Powell told NBC's Meet the Press.

"Essentially, we have shaken the belief the world had in America's justice system by keeping a place like Guantánamo open and creating things like the military commission. We don't need it and it is causing us far more damage than any good we get for it", he added.

-Colin Powell on NBC's Meet the Press
[[http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1043646920070610]]
--[[User:Bucklesman|Bucklesman]] 09:48, 12 June 2007 (EDT)
:: No wonder they got rid of him!!!--[[User:Bilby|Bilby]] 10:13, 12 June 2007 (EDT)

==Held without charges?==
I dispute this statement:
"In this prison, the people being held are accused by the US government of terrorism."
It does not have a reference on this claim.

The Supreme Court (search) delivered a mixed verdict Monday on the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies, ruling that the U.S. government has the power to hold American citizens and foreign nationals without charges or trial, but that detainees can challenge their treatment in U.S. courts.
[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123996,00.html Mixed Rulings on Terror Detention Policies]

Padilla was held indefinitely without charges and so was Hicks. Clearly, there would not be a need to file for habeas corpus if the detainees had been charged.
[[User:TheAgency|TheAgency]] 10:14, 11 September 2007 (EDT)

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T14:18:14Z

TheAgency: added second reference to supreme court ruling

[[Image:050127 guantanamo hmed 12p hmedium.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
The '''Guantanamo Bay detention camp''' is a military [[prison]] of the [[United States of America]] on the southeastern tip of the island of [[Cuba]]. In this prison, suspected terrorists are held indefinitely without charge, trial or a right to counsel.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201315,00.html Official: Gitmo Prisoners Wage 'Jihad' in Cuba</ref><ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123996,00.html Mixed Rulings on Terror Detention Policies</ref> The [[liberal]] organization Center for Constitutional Rights is organizing attorneys to file [[habeas corpus]] petitions in the Washington, D.C., federal court on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. <ref>http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=pQOvjcVXXK&Content=406</ref>

On April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by a group of detainees of this camp, with the majority stating that it would be inappropriate to rule until the group had exhausted other remedies.<ref>[[Withdraw of Jurisdiction Upheld - Original Work|Supreme Court rules against detainees]]</ref><ref>Congressional Research Service Report [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33180.pdf Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court], updated April 6, 2007.</ref>

== Guantanamo Bay ==

Guantanamo Bay is a coastal area on southeastern [[Cuba]] occupied and controlled by the United States government pursuant to a 1903 Lease Agreement with the newly independent Republic of Cuba subsequent to the Spanish-American War. The Agreement established that:<ref>''Rasul v. Bush'', 542 U.S. 466 (2004) (quoting lease).</ref>

:"the United States recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the [leased areas]," but "the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the United States . . . the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas."

In 1934 the United States and Cuba entered into another treaty that provided that, absent an agreement to modify or abrogate the lease, it would remain in effect "[s]o long as the United States of America shall not abandon the . . . naval station of Guantanamo."<ref>''Id.''</ref>

== Detention Camp ==

Due to security concerns the media has not been given access to the detention center, and the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration has said that interrogations are vital tools for winning the [[War on Terror]]<ref>"The president said the legislation must allow the [[CIA]]’s interrogation program to continue. "The information the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] has obtained by questioning men like [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned strikes inside the [[United States]] and on a U.S. Marine base in [[East Africa]], an American consulate in [[Pakistan]], and Britain's [[Heathrow Airport]]," Bush said "This CIA program has saved American lives, and the lives of people in other countries.”" [http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060916101245esnamfuak0.5314905] </ref> There have, however, been a number of accusations of the use of [[torture]], and some detainees are believed to have been brought in via [[extraordinary rendition]]. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,1981955,00.html]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=377623&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3706050.stm]</ref> Majid Khan, a native of Pakistan is suspected of providing material support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorism, transporting people across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and expressing a desire to assassinate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by suicide attack. Khan submitted a “statement of torture" at a combatant status review tribunal hearing, claiming he was mentally tortured during his detainment. Among his complaints were that he and other detainees were given low-quality soap and other toiletries, noisy fans and deflated balls for recreation that hardly bounced. Khan testified he had refused to eat or drink, and complained that his captors responded by force-feeding intravenously. <ref> [http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/FrontPage%20Stories/Evidence%20Links%20‘High-Value’%20Detainee%20to%20Al%20Qaeda.aspx Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda], By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, May 15, 2007. </ref>

In another case, some 22 Chinese Muslim detainees have been cleared of all wrong doing, but have been held in the prison camp for more than five years. The Bush administration fears they will face persecution if they are returned home, so they continue to stay in prison, having committed no crime. <ref>Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/05/30/2003157526</ref><ref>Jurist http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/us-asks-germany-to-take-chinese.php</ref>

*The Australian [[David Hicks]] has been held in the camp for over five years. He was originally charged with "conspiracy, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy." <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/d20040610cs.pdf Hicks' original charge sheet</ref> but these charges were dropped "after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization." <ref>http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/us-re-charging-guantanamo-detainees.php Some background on the charge process</ref> He was later charged with "providing material support of terrorism" and "attempted murder in violation of the law of war" - the latter charge was also dropped. <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20070301hicks.pdf The Hicks Charge Sheet</ref> <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-knew-fight-was-wrong/2007/03/26/1174761313462.html</ref>. On March 26, 2007 David Hicks pleaded guilty to the charge. "A prisoner exchange agreement between Australia and the US means Hicks will be allowed to serve out any remaining prison time in Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today."<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-pleads-guilty/2007/03/27/1174761414531.html</ref> News reports after the trial stated that "Hicks has pleaded guilty to only one of two counts under the charge. It says that, in Afghanistan during 2000 and 2001, he provided material support for al-Qaeda, which was engaged in terrorism against the US. He pleaded not guilty to a second count that said he provided material support or resources "to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, an act of terrorism". <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/short-jail-term-tipped-for-hicks/2007/03/28/1174761567951.html Short Jail Term Tipped For Hicks</ref> 
Hicks was sentenced to another seven years in prison by the Military Commision panel but a pre-trial plea bargain drastically cut that sentence. He will spend the last seven months of his sentence in an Australian prison, Yatala Labour Prison. Hicks arrived back in Australia on May 20, 2007. He is due for release from prison in Adelaide, South Australia, in late December, 2007.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-elated-after-long-journey-home/2007/05/20/1179601242787.html Elated to be in solitary confinement</ref> He is not permitted, under the terms of his plea bargain, to speak with any media for 12 months. <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-will-be-free-by-new-year/2007/03/30/1174761754698.html Hicks Will Be Free By New Year</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/ Naval Station Website]
*[http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/ Joint Task Force Website]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf List of detainees at Guatanamo Bay]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/ US Dept of Defence site]
*[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118217520339739055.html?mod=mm_main_promo_left The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher]

*[http://www.fairgofordavid.org/ Another David Hicks site]

[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Military]]

Talk:Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T14:14:44Z

TheAgency: /* What about this? */

AustinM: Please provide a {{cite}} for this inclusion,
:''Some liberal groups have accused the US of practicing [[torture]] at Gitmo, such as cold-hot shock rooms, electrical shocks, simulated drowning, food and water deprivation, chaining, forced walking on broken glass and barbed wire, and psychological torture.''
Thank you. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:00, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

It's not just liberals who have made the accusation either.--[[User:Murray|Murray]] 13:06, 16 March 2007 (EDT)
:Yes, that is precisely what i'm driving at. Why is the term liberal used here then coupled with an innuendo for "non-liberals", preesumably? [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:20, 16 March 2007 (EDT)

==Word usage==

Cut:

: Some human rights groups and other activists claim the US has practiced [[torture]], such as cold-hot shock rooms, electrical shocks, simulated drowning, food and water deprivation, chaining, forced walking on broken glass and barbed wire, and psychological torture.[http://web.amnesty.org/pages/stoptorture-reallives-eng] As torture is illegal in the US and in nearly all other nations in the world, the camp is critisized by governments around the world.

The US opposes torture, but not all the things listed in the passage above are "torture". There have been attempts (almostly entirely by political opponents of Bush's Iraq policy) to change the legal definition of torture.

I suppose that this a a strategy. Instead of having two classes of forbidden interrogation techniques (1) torture, which is simply uncivilized and (2) "excessive roughness" (for lack of a better word) - these advocates make the following argument:

#torture is bad
#we must not do what is bad
#rough interrogation techniques are torture
#therefor. they are bad and we must not do them

The Bush administration agrees that '''some''' [[coercive interrogation]] techniques are bad, but refuses to concede that they are examples of "torture".

This passage needs to be fixed:
*Do not say that the listed techniques '''are''' torture but that advocates '''consider them''' to be torture or "want them to be classified legally as torture" or "have been trying to get the word 'torture' redefined".
*Distinguish between [[rough interrogation]] techniques that the US acknowledges having done and those it asserts it has not done
*Also distinguish between such techniques the US agrees are "torture" or "too rough" and those it insists on continuing to use, such as [[waterboarding]].
*Mention that there is a controversy over whether frightening a prisoner is always torture, tantamount to torture, or just rather clever.

Other ideas that need mentioning are:
*The efficacy of [[coercive interrogation]]: is it useful to gain evidence for legal proceedings, or does it just help to stop terrorists from carrying out their next operation, or what?

Moreover, we should distinguish between US Liberal and Conservative positions on this, rather than using weasel words like "has been criticized" or "some groups and activists claim".

There's also the perennial problem of classifying various advocates. Is Human Rights Watch liberal? How about Amnesty International? Many liberals and liberal groups do not admit to being liberal, a trend that began with Michael Dukakis protesting the "L-word" a quarter century ago. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 08:31, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

:Good analysis. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:54, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

Here is some more analysis:
*Liberals generally say that the Geneva protections for POWs "applies" (or "should apply") to these people.

Usually the word this as, "The Geneva conventions apply to the gitmo detainees, but the US ..." This is deceptive, because both the US (and these partisans) are in agreement on one thing and in disagreement on another thing:
*They agree that the US is bound by the Geneva Conventions
*They agree that the Geneva Conventions "apply" to anyone captured in a combat zone
*Prisoners should not be "tortured"
But:
*They disagree on whether stateless persons, not wearing uniforms, etc. are entitled to "POW status".

POWs get all sorts of special privileges, because they are citizens of another country which is a party to the Geneva Conventions. Geneva isn't a universal code of human rights, but an treaty between nations. Warring nations who want to settle disputes with force but don't seek the total destruction of their enemies - in other words, civilized countries - agree to limit their war tactics. We don't mistreat your civilians and POWs, and you don't mistreat ours. But uniformed men on the battlefield are fair game. (Think of the gangs in West Side Story agreeing that the gym is neutral territory, leaving girls out of it, choosing where to have a big fight, etc.)

Spies get nothing. Stateless people get nothing. Nothing special, I mean. The legal and diplomatic goodies due POWs are reserved for a specified class.

Remind me to move all this into some article like:
*[[Prisoner of war]]
*[[unlawful combatant]]
*[[Geneva Conventions]]
*[[Laws of war]]

Okay, gotta go. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 20:43, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

:Another thing: the Gitmo detainees are '''''at war with''''' the Geneva Convention. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 20:56, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

: Let's look at David Hicks, a citizen of Australia. There is nothing stateless about that, other than the fact that the Australian government tends to disown you if you upset the Bush administration. Most of the photos I have seen of him in Afgahnistan have him wearing a uniform. He, in his mind, believed he was fighting for the freedom of an oppressed people who had been invaded by other countries. In some ways very similar to any resistance fighter in Europe in WW II except they didn't wear uniforms. You do need to ask why the US won't bring those people for trial on US territory - are they afraid that then they will have to apply US or International Treaty law instead of Bush Law? --[[User:Bilby|Bilby]] 18:07, 29 March 2007 (EDT)

==David Hicks==

Bilby, I don't get where you're going with the Hicks trial. Are you saying he's innocent; that he's guilty but the law should be changed; that he was a terrorist but terrorism isn't bad; that he did a bad thing but shouldn't be punished because the law wasn't in place; or what?

It doesn't seem like a balanced entry at all; are you trying consciously to make it trustworthy? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 19:13, 26 March 2007 (EDT)
: All I have added is the run down of what has happened at the trial so far today. As far as I can see it is a factual account of what occured in recent hours. His guilt is for the court to decide. There is a lot of debate about the charge as it is being used retrospectively. Although American law had that charge since Oklahoma, the military law didn't. It was put in place and then he was charged with it a couple of months ago after five years in jail without charge. These are just facts. How they are to be interpreted is up to history but America is not winning friends around the world by treating people like this!--[[User:Bilby|Bilby]] 19:18, 26 March 2007 (EDT)

::The most significant part of that is the ''ex post facto'' law. Or the claim about it. Can you source the claim? And also dig into it, find out what the US says about that claim.

::Handling breaking news is touchy. Are you sure you can handle it neutrally? --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 20:54, 26 March 2007 (EDT)

:::"neutrally" is always an interesting word. I have a bias, all writers do. But I know it and am trying to report "facts" as I receive them through a variety of media. I could add a quote from St Helen Prejean ""Guantanamo Bay is an abhorrent aberration of everything that my country ought to be about," she said in Sydney yesterday. "I think it's because we do execute people. It just so smacks of empire." " but recognise that it contains a bias which would not be accepted by this site - it would get edited away very quickly as being not sourced correctly, or being too opinionated - but only because the "neutral" editors have their own bias. The TV reports today claimed that David Hicks was asked if he could speak English or if he needed an interpreter - his response was that he might be difficult to understand because he spoke Australian English. I reported the first half, you edited it and reported the second. Perhaps we should wait for the trial transcript and just put that intstead - if it is ever published.

If there are two halves, and you and I each reported only one half, does that make us both half-witted? ;-) Please put in both halves. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 15:01, 27 March 2007 (EDT)

So David Hicks has pleaded guilty? To ONE charge of providing material support for "terrorism"? A charge at the very lowest end of the scale, and one which could be levelled at any partisan who has ever had a rebel leader doss down under their roof. And the sleek lawyers and obese pigs of the gutter press in Australia are taking this as confirmation of his evil, and crowing about it from every tabloid. Needless to say, they (and I imagine most of us) would have been pleading guilty to personally ordering the attack on 9/11 after ONE WEEK of the treatment being dished out at Gitters. And Hicks has been there, without charge, for five years! Shame on you all! Note, there are NO British or American prisoners there. The Brits demanded theirs back, and the Yanks put theirs on trial. Only Hicks, who was a hero in Bosnia, and who has never killed anyone, is rotting in this filthy jail. Oh yes, he was in cahoots with Osama. Well, news flash, punters. This was BEFORE 9/11, and your President was in bed not with Osama, but with the whole stinking family of them. Free David Hicks, say I! MylesP is my page here.
Email: myles325@yahoo.com.au

== What about this? ==

"Guantánamo has become a major, major problem ... in the way the world perceives America and if it were up to me I would close Guantánamo not tomorrow but this afternoon ... and I would not let any of those people go. I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system", Powell told NBC's Meet the Press.

"Essentially, we have shaken the belief the world had in America's justice system by keeping a place like Guantánamo open and creating things like the military commission. We don't need it and it is causing us far more damage than any good we get for it", he added.

-Colin Powell on NBC's Meet the Press
[[http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1043646920070610]]
--[[User:Bucklesman|Bucklesman]] 09:48, 12 June 2007 (EDT)
:: No wonder they got rid of him!!!--[[User:Bilby|Bilby]] 10:13, 12 June 2007 (EDT)

==Held without charges?==
I dispute this statement:
"In this prison, the people being held are accused by the US government of terrorism."
It does not have a reference on this claim.

The Supreme Court (search) delivered a mixed verdict Monday on the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies, ruling that the U.S. government has the power to hold American citizens and foreign nationals without charges or trial, but that detainees can challenge their treatment in U.S. courts.
[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123996,00.html Mixed Rulings on Terror Detention Policies]

Padilla was held indefinitely without charges and so was Hicks.
[[User:TheAgency|TheAgency]] 10:14, 11 September 2007 (EDT)

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T14:06:14Z

TheAgency: no reference to prove this

[[Image:050127 guantanamo hmed 12p hmedium.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
The '''Guantanamo Bay detention camp''' is a military [[prison]] of the [[United States of America]] on the southeastern tip of the island of [[Cuba]]. In this prison, the people being held are accused by the US government of [[terrorism]].{{fact}} The [[liberal]] organization Center for Constitutional Rights is organizing attorneys to file [[habeas corpus]] petitions in the Washington, D.C., federal court on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. <ref>http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=pQOvjcVXXK&Content=406</ref>

On April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by a group of detainees of this camp, with the majority stating that it would be inappropriate to rule until the group had exhausted other remedies.<ref>[[Withdraw of Jurisdiction Upheld - Original Work|Supreme Court rules against detainees]]</ref><ref>Congressional Research Service Report [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33180.pdf Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court], updated April 6, 2007.</ref>

== Guantanamo Bay ==

Guantanamo Bay is a coastal area on southeastern [[Cuba]] occupied and controlled by the United States government pursuant to a 1903 Lease Agreement with the newly independent Republic of Cuba subsequent to the Spanish-American War. The Agreement established that:<ref>''Rasul v. Bush'', 542 U.S. 466 (2004) (quoting lease).</ref>

:"the United States recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the [leased areas]," but "the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the United States . . . the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas."

In 1934 the United States and Cuba entered into another treaty that provided that, absent an agreement to modify or abrogate the lease, it would remain in effect "[s]o long as the United States of America shall not abandon the . . . naval station of Guantanamo."<ref>''Id.''</ref>

== Detention Camp ==

Due to security concerns the media has not been given access to the detention center, and the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration has said that interrogations are vital tools for winning the [[War on Terror]]<ref>"The president said the legislation must allow the [[CIA]]’s interrogation program to continue. "The information the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] has obtained by questioning men like [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned strikes inside the [[United States]] and on a U.S. Marine base in [[East Africa]], an American consulate in [[Pakistan]], and Britain's [[Heathrow Airport]]," Bush said "This CIA program has saved American lives, and the lives of people in other countries.”" [http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060916101245esnamfuak0.5314905] </ref> There have, however, been a number of accusations of the use of [[torture]], and some detainees are believed to have been brought in via [[extraordinary rendition]]. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,1981955,00.html]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=377623&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3706050.stm]</ref> Majid Khan, a native of Pakistan is suspected of providing material support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorism, transporting people across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and expressing a desire to assassinate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by suicide attack. Khan submitted a “statement of torture" at a combatant status review tribunal hearing, claiming he was mentally tortured during his detainment. Among his complaints were that he and other detainees were given low-quality soap and other toiletries, noisy fans and deflated balls for recreation that hardly bounced. Khan testified he had refused to eat or drink, and complained that his captors responded by force-feeding intravenously. <ref> [http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/FrontPage%20Stories/Evidence%20Links%20‘High-Value’%20Detainee%20to%20Al%20Qaeda.aspx Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda], By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, May 15, 2007. </ref>

In another case, some 22 Chinese Muslim detainees have been cleared of all wrong doing, but have been held in the prison camp for more than five years. The Bush administration fears they will face persecution if they are returned home, so they continue to stay in prison, having committed no crime. <ref>Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/05/30/2003157526</ref><ref>Jurist http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/us-asks-germany-to-take-chinese.php</ref>

*The Australian [[David Hicks]] has been held in the camp for over five years. He was originally charged with "conspiracy, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy." <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/d20040610cs.pdf Hicks' original charge sheet</ref> but these charges were dropped "after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization." <ref>http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/us-re-charging-guantanamo-detainees.php Some background on the charge process</ref> He was later charged with "providing material support of terrorism" and "attempted murder in violation of the law of war" - the latter charge was also dropped. <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20070301hicks.pdf The Hicks Charge Sheet</ref> <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-knew-fight-was-wrong/2007/03/26/1174761313462.html</ref>. On March 26, 2007 David Hicks pleaded guilty to the charge. "A prisoner exchange agreement between Australia and the US means Hicks will be allowed to serve out any remaining prison time in Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today."<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-pleads-guilty/2007/03/27/1174761414531.html</ref> News reports after the trial stated that "Hicks has pleaded guilty to only one of two counts under the charge. It says that, in Afghanistan during 2000 and 2001, he provided material support for al-Qaeda, which was engaged in terrorism against the US. He pleaded not guilty to a second count that said he provided material support or resources "to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, an act of terrorism". <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/short-jail-term-tipped-for-hicks/2007/03/28/1174761567951.html Short Jail Term Tipped For Hicks</ref> 
Hicks was sentenced to another seven years in prison by the Military Commision panel but a pre-trial plea bargain drastically cut that sentence. He will spend the last seven months of his sentence in an Australian prison, Yatala Labour Prison. Hicks arrived back in Australia on May 20, 2007. He is due for release from prison in Adelaide, South Australia, in late December, 2007.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-elated-after-long-journey-home/2007/05/20/1179601242787.html Elated to be in solitary confinement</ref> He is not permitted, under the terms of his plea bargain, to speak with any media for 12 months. <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-will-be-free-by-new-year/2007/03/30/1174761754698.html Hicks Will Be Free By New Year</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/ Naval Station Website]
*[http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/ Joint Task Force Website]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf List of detainees at Guatanamo Bay]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/ US Dept of Defence site]
*[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118217520339739055.html?mod=mm_main_promo_left The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher]

*[http://www.fairgofordavid.org/ Another David Hicks site]

[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Military]]

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp

2007-09-11T13:44:25Z

TheAgency: Correction with reference

[[Image:050127 guantanamo hmed 12p hmedium.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
The '''Guantanamo Bay detention camp''' is a military [[prison]] of the [[United States of America]] on the southeastern tip of the island of [[Cuba]]. In this prison, suspected terrorists are held indefinitely without charge, trial or a right to counsel.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201315,00.html Official: Gitmo Prisoners Wage 'Jihad' in Cuba</ref> The [[liberal]] organization Center for Constitutional Rights is organizing attorneys to file [[habeas corpus]] petitions in the Washington, D.C., federal court on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. <ref>http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=pQOvjcVXXK&Content=406</ref>

On April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by a group of detainees of this camp, with the majority stating that it would be inappropriate to rule until the group had exhausted other remedies.<ref>[[Withdraw of Jurisdiction Upheld - Original Work|Supreme Court rules against detainees]]</ref><ref>Congressional Research Service Report [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33180.pdf Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court], updated April 6, 2007.</ref>

== Guantanamo Bay ==

Guantanamo Bay is a coastal area on southeastern [[Cuba]] occupied and controlled by the United States government pursuant to a 1903 Lease Agreement with the newly independent Republic of Cuba subsequent to the Spanish-American War. The Agreement established that:<ref>''Rasul v. Bush'', 542 U.S. 466 (2004) (quoting lease).</ref>

:"the United States recognizes the continuance of the ultimate sovereignty of the Republic of Cuba over the [leased areas]," but "the Republic of Cuba consents that during the period of the occupation by the United States . . . the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control over and within said areas."

In 1934 the United States and Cuba entered into another treaty that provided that, absent an agreement to modify or abrogate the lease, it would remain in effect "[s]o long as the United States of America shall not abandon the . . . naval station of Guantanamo."<ref>''Id.''</ref>

== Detention Camp ==

Due to security concerns the media has not been given access to the detention center, and the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration has said that interrogations are vital tools for winning the [[War on Terror]]<ref>"The president said the legislation must allow the [[CIA]]’s interrogation program to continue. "The information the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] has obtained by questioning men like [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including planned strikes inside the [[United States]] and on a U.S. Marine base in [[East Africa]], an American consulate in [[Pakistan]], and Britain's [[Heathrow Airport]]," Bush said "This CIA program has saved American lives, and the lives of people in other countries.”" [http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060916101245esnamfuak0.5314905] </ref> There have, however, been a number of accusations of the use of [[torture]], and some detainees are believed to have been brought in via [[extraordinary rendition]]. <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,1981955,00.html]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=377623&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3706050.stm]</ref> Majid Khan, a native of Pakistan is suspected of providing material support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorism, transporting people across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and expressing a desire to assassinate Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf by suicide attack. Khan submitted a “statement of torture" at a combatant status review tribunal hearing, claiming he was mentally tortured during his detainment. Among his complaints were that he and other detainees were given low-quality soap and other toiletries, noisy fans and deflated balls for recreation that hardly bounced. Khan testified he had refused to eat or drink, and complained that his captors responded by force-feeding intravenously. <ref> [http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/FrontPage%20Stories/Evidence%20Links%20‘High-Value’%20Detainee%20to%20Al%20Qaeda.aspx Evidence Links ‘High-Value’ Detainee to Al Qaeda], By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, May 15, 2007. </ref>

In another case, some 22 Chinese Muslim detainees have been cleared of all wrong doing, but have been held in the prison camp for more than five years. The Bush administration fears they will face persecution if they are returned home, so they continue to stay in prison, having committed no crime. <ref>Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/05/30/2003157526</ref><ref>Jurist http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/us-asks-germany-to-take-chinese.php</ref>

*The Australian [[David Hicks]] has been held in the camp for over five years. He was originally charged with "conspiracy, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy." <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/d20040610cs.pdf Hicks' original charge sheet</ref> but these charges were dropped "after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization." <ref>http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/us-re-charging-guantanamo-detainees.php Some background on the charge process</ref> He was later charged with "providing material support of terrorism" and "attempted murder in violation of the law of war" - the latter charge was also dropped. <ref>http://www.defenselink.mil/news/d20070301hicks.pdf The Hicks Charge Sheet</ref> <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-knew-fight-was-wrong/2007/03/26/1174761313462.html</ref>. On March 26, 2007 David Hicks pleaded guilty to the charge. "A prisoner exchange agreement between Australia and the US means Hicks will be allowed to serve out any remaining prison time in Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today."<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hicks-pleads-guilty/2007/03/27/1174761414531.html</ref> News reports after the trial stated that "Hicks has pleaded guilty to only one of two counts under the charge. It says that, in Afghanistan during 2000 and 2001, he provided material support for al-Qaeda, which was engaged in terrorism against the US. He pleaded not guilty to a second count that said he provided material support or resources "to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, an act of terrorism". <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/short-jail-term-tipped-for-hicks/2007/03/28/1174761567951.html Short Jail Term Tipped For Hicks</ref> 
Hicks was sentenced to another seven years in prison by the Military Commision panel but a pre-trial plea bargain drastically cut that sentence. He will spend the last seven months of his sentence in an Australian prison, Yatala Labour Prison. Hicks arrived back in Australia on May 20, 2007. He is due for release from prison in Adelaide, South Australia, in late December, 2007.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-elated-after-long-journey-home/2007/05/20/1179601242787.html Elated to be in solitary confinement</ref> He is not permitted, under the terms of his plea bargain, to speak with any media for 12 months. <ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-will-be-free-by-new-year/2007/03/30/1174761754698.html Hicks Will Be Free By New Year</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/ Naval Station Website]
*[http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/ Joint Task Force Website]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf List of detainees at Guatanamo Bay]
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/ US Dept of Defence site]
*[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118217520339739055.html?mod=mm_main_promo_left The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher]

*[http://www.fairgofordavid.org/ Another David Hicks site]

[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Military]]

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