WAR: 38 ordered to be freed from Guantanamo Bay

Yesterday, The Pentagon announced that 38 out of 558 Guantanamo Bay detainees were not ''enemy combatants", and ordered their release. Some are calling the review process "unfair", as the detainees were not allowed legal council nor were they allowed to challenge any of the secret evidence against them. 5 of the 38 freed from Guantanamo Bay have been released, while the remaining 33 are still being processed. The State Department has said it was working to co-ordinate the release of the remaining 33 detainees as quickly as possible.



The detainees will not be compensated for their incarceration. One question that I have not seen answered is this - Is there anything preventing these released detainees from taking legal action against the United States for their possible wrongful incarceration? Are they not due *some* form of compensation?

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[edit on 30-3-2005 by negativenihil]

[edit on 30-3-2005 by negativenihil]

I wonder if the people that have been held there for so long and now released and cleared of already non existent charges, while having no right to defend themselves and have legal council, will get some sort of compensation for this ordeal?

They propably aren't gona ask for it themselves in fear of getting shipped back to guantanamo either....

I reckon they should get 1 million each - hell thats a pittance compared to what's being spent on the war...

Guantanamo Bay, thats in Cuba right? How come they have the concentration camp there? I thought the US was at odds with Cuba??

Originally posted by KiwiDave
I reckon they should get 1 million each - hell thats a pittance compared to what's being spent on the war...

Why? Far worser things have happened to Americans through the course American History and these people received absolutely no compensation. They should be happy they are getting out of prison and leave it at that.

Originally posted by Simulacra
Why? Far worser things have happened to Americans through the course American History and these people received absolutely no compensation. They should be happy they are getting out of prison and leave it at that.

So you beleive that the "leaders of the free world" should stoop to the same level of the barbarians? Really, the US is surely above this kind of conduct, is it not?

[edit on 30-3-2005 by KiwiDave]

Had I been wrongfully detained for a couple of years and later released, my thoughts would be "And they thought I was trouble before...."!

It really is a sign of how low society is getting when people can actually try and justify how these people have been treated.

While I agree that is good that they've been released, it shouldnt stop there. These people have been cleared of any wrong doing even by their unlawful detainers and should be entitled to compensation and an apology for the years of their lives they will not get back.

Can people grasp the situation these people found themselves in? They didnt know the charge brought against them, they had no consular access, no access to a lawyer, no trial and no access to the supposedly incriminating evidence.

I mean what the hell? What in Gods name can you possibly do in that situation? This is not justice, this is unlawful detainment and I hope the people responsible for these travesties of justice are dragged over the coals for this some day.

[edit on 30/3/05 by subz]

Originally posted by KiwiDave
So you beleive that the "leaders of the free world" should stoop to the same level of the barbarians? Really, the US is surely above this kind of conduct, is it not?

If we were to stoop to the level of these 'barbarians' then every prison would have already been decapiated, hands chopped off, lined up and executed by a firing squad, hung, tongues cut off, Legs sawed off...oh and did I mention all this would be on videotape and shown to the American people.

Don't even begin to compare America to third world countries.

Originally posted by Simulacra
Why? Far worser things have happened to Americans through the course American History and these people received absolutely no compensation. They should be happy they are getting out of prison and leave it at that.

Yeah and your point is?

Should the the American Indians be able to massacre whole American towns because American soldiers did the same to them 200 years ago?

Should Vietnamese villagers be able to pour napalm onto American children because American soldiers did the same to them in the 70's?

Should Iraqi's be able to fire rockets into American marketplaces and kill dozens of innocent Americans?

The list is endless dude. There is NEVER justification for abusing/killing innocent people and these people have been proven to be innocent. Even if people in Guantanamo are guilty there is a well respected and time proven method with dealing with them.

Its called trial by jury and this and other human rights were bought and paid for by literally millions of our fathers and grandfathers lives in World War 2. Now we see what the people entrusted with authourity have done to these hard-won rights. They've spat in the face of all those soldiers who have died.

You cant defend whats been done in Guantanamo.

One question that I have not seen answered is this - Is there anything preventing these released detainees from taking legal action against the United States for their possible wrongful incarceration? Are they not due *some* form of compensation?

I certainly see nothing preventing them from filing suit against the US government. Their best bet is a class action suit most likely, but of course, the onus is upon them to do so. Incarceration without representation and a timely hearing should not be the practices of any civilized government.

Agreed.

However hasnt there been a new law passed on limiting the ability of people to bring class actions into fedral courts?

Originally posted by subz
Should the the American Indians be able to massacre whole American towns because American soldiers did the same to them 200 years ago?

'Eye for an eye makes the world blind' - Ghandi

Of course not. But wrongs being fulfilled with 'compensation' is not a requiste of a the strongest society in the world. It's not our duty to fulfill the needs of others simply because there has been errors and wrongdoings in the past.

The American government promised all former slaves '40 acres and a mule'. What happened? Absolutely nothing. Promises from entites so large as the US Government is immediately void and empty. Why? Because it's not in Americas best intrest to appease others because of mistakes that occured. If this were the case then USA would not be the leading power in the world.

Originally posted by subz
Should Vietnamese villagers be able to pour napalm onto American children because American soldiers did the same to them in the 70's?

Should Iraqi's be able to fire rockets into American marketplaces and kill dozens of innocent Americans?

Why don't you take it back to when Christains slaughtered millions of Muslims in the name of Christ? Should all muslims now now have the innate right to kill every christain?

What about Jews that were killed in Aushwitz and all over Germany? Should they be able to take a trip to Germany and gas the population of Germany?

What about Zulus of Africa? Should they have the right to slaughter Britains?

What about the people of Australia? Do they have the right to imprison the population of Britain and send them to a desolate island to live?

You have to stop living in the past. It's the only way we can obtain a suitable future.

and what happens when 8 or 10 of these "wrongfully" held people is caught planning a hostile action, or worse, is involved in a successful attack?

Will anyone acknowledge the mistake then?

They were rhetorical questions and I didnt put them forth as valid points. It was to highlight the stupidity of your argument. The argument that apparently tries to justify whats happening in Guantanamo because of whats happend to American soldiers in Iraq.

My point was what you've just said yourself.

Originally posted by Phugedaboudet
and what happens when 8 or 10 of these "wrongfully" held people is caught planning a hostile action, or worse, is involved in a successful attack?

Will anyone acknowledge the mistake then?

The mistake and fault will be laid where it belongs. At those that perpetrated the attack and the intelligence agencies that failed to stop it.

Arbitrarilly locking up people with no evidence given and no right to trial is not the way to stop attacks. If anything it will fuel even more anger against the USA.

Should the entire Muslim World be incarcerated to prevent any further attacks? If you answer no to this question you cant possibly agree to whats happening in Guantanamo as well. There are innocent people there and their human rights are being denied to them by the United States government.

Put them on trial, give them a lawyer and consular access. Whats there to hide? Secret sources? I've a secret source that says Bush is planning to nuke Russia. Can I lock him up indefinately? If not, why not? Because im not a politician?

[edit on 30/3/05 by subz]