Imagine this. You have just gotten a new watch, one that is cheap and ubiquitous,--the Casio F-91W digital watch. However, in a string of contiguous events, you are arrested by U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan, and sent to one of the most widely condemned places in the world--Guantanamo Bay detention camp (Ball). While this scenario may sound strange and confusing, it was the sad reality for many innocent men, who committed no crime other than wearing a watch. Admittedly, this watch was given out by al-Qaida to trainees, but many of the people who had this watch were innocent, not at all associated with the infamous terror organization. Guantanamo Bay detention camp , also referred to as Gitmo, is a U.S. operated military prison located within the …show more content…
Gitmo has succeeded in alienating the U.S. from allies. President Obama said this himself in a White House remark on National Security, “Because the terrorists can only succeed if they swell their ranks and alienate America from our allies,” which is exactly what Gitmo is doing. Additionally, Gitmo encourages further terror, as it is used in terrorist propaganda to paint a negative picture of a hypocritical America (Postel). In fact, the orange jumpsuits worn by victims in Daesh’s (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) execution videos, pay direct homage to the uniform of Gitmo detainees (Bennet). Furthermore, the intelligence received at Gitmo is often invalid because, it was given by detainees who were subject to “enhanced interrogation techniques,” which were the equivalent of torture. Considering must of the subjects’ confessions were given under duress, they are invalid and the means by which they were received raise further questions about Gitmo (“Torture”). If the institution itself is not helpful, and must be closed according to the authorities who started it, it seems obvious that Gitmo must be
Applebaum's second argument for eliminating the torture policy is that it constantly enables the enemy to build tolerance for the torture. Applebaum uses the example of “radical terrorists are nasty, so to defeat them we have to be nastier.” This example clearly illustrates the fault within the misconception that torture is ultimately effective. There can also be unnoticed and lasting consequences to torture, that in turn, affect more than the individual country. The global stigma that is labeled upon any country that participates in or allows the torture of wartime prisoners is remarkably important. The public and self image that the respective country acquires, affects
All throughout history, Prison war camps Sorta became a thing of the norm . Whether it is in Nazi ,Germany during World War II or The United States during the civil war. Both packed and riddled with disease, both brutal, no doubt, but one more than the other.
No, I do believe that exorbitant costs of incarceration at Gitmo is justified the reason why I say this is because it causing America to become bankrupt. The prison was original built in the response to the terrorist attack and was made known the most expensive prison in the world (Bohm & Haley, 2014). The prison was run down and was unable to withstand stability after five years of building the prison. Obama guaranteed while he was in office to completely shut down Gitmo due to the cost of the United States.
Photograph #1 shows a large group of Japanese Americans lining up behind a table, for what appears to be their registration into a Japanese internment camp. Within the group, you can see looks of confusion and distress on most of the adult faces, as well as looks of confusion and crying from the children. Many of the Japanese Americans are carrying few belongings other than the man to the left with one bag in his hand, and the woman in front of him who has an item in her hands; it is implied that after registering their names with the United States government representatives at the table, they will be sent to the internment camps with what they have. With the confusion on their faces as well, it could be assumed that some people did not even know that they could take belongings with them to the camps. It could also be assumed that many in the line are not sure why they have to register in these camps, as they have been living normal American lives up until this point in 1942.
Torture is known as the intentional infliction of either physical or psychological harm for the purpose of gaining something – typically information – from the subject for the benefit of the inflictor. Normal human morality would typically argue that this is a wrongful and horrendous act. On the contrary, to deal with the “war on terrorism” torture has begun to work its way towards being an accepted plan of action against terrorism targeting the United States. Terroristic acts perpetrate anger in individuals throughout the United States, so torture has migrated to being considered as a viable form of action through a blind eye. Suspect terrorists arguably have basic human rights and should not be put through such psychologically and physically damaging circumstances.
In the video it talks about how Pelican Bay State Prison is known for the thousands upon
Torture has long been a controversial issue in the battle against terrorism. Especially, the catastrophic incident of September 11, 2001 has once again brought the issue into debate, and this time with more rage than ever before. Even until today, the debate over should we or should we not use torture interrogation to obtain information from terrorists has never died down. Many questions were brought up: Does the method go against the law of human rights? Does it help prevent more terrorist attacks? Should it be made visible by law? It is undeniable that the use of torture interrogation surely brings up a lot of problems as well as criticism. One of the biggest problems is that if torture is effective at all. There are
The United States military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been occupied by over 700 Middle Eastern men suspected of terrorism since 2002. It has been home to some of the most heinous suspected terrorist to ever walk on this Earth. What to do with this military base, has been a major source of conflict within our nation and with other nations for over a decade, with no real reasoning substantial enough to close the base. Although our government has come forward and declared that interrogation methods used on some of the detainees has been unethical and has broken some United States laws. But closing Guantanamo Bay is a task that should not be pursued, because it causes more problems to our countries people, our diplomatic and
In 1941, Japanese fleet at port of Hawaii launched massive raid to American fleets. Americans suffered the biggest defeat ever, which cause Americans of anger and fear give vent to all of Japanese-American. American insults and blamed Japanese and violation rate increased during that time in Japanese community. The FBI track down and arrest about 15000 Japanese-American using “ military necessary” as excuse. President Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing the army can force "relevant persons" move away from the military designation “ military area” and relocated a new place that have no one lived there before. While the executive order did not expressly use the word “ Japanese-American”, but they use “ relevant people” in order to avoid race issue. In fact most of people who were being arrest were Japanese-American, some of them even don't speak Japanese. During 1942, 100,000 Japanese were transported huge concentration camp including young and old.
“You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention, anything else you get is a privilege” ("Daily Activity Schedule"). This was the fifth regulation of many, it is what every inmate to ever attend this island read as they walked into the doors of the Alcatraz penitentiary. This island off of the San Francisco shoreline housed some of America’s most famous criminals. Before being turned into a federal penitentiary Alcatraz was used for other uses other than a prison. In 1850, president Millard Fillmore issued an Executive Order designating Alcatraz Island for the use of the military. In 1853, work began on Alcatraz, engineers used the location and landscape to full advantage. After construction was finished it became known as
Alcatraz was a prison, that was in use from 1934 to 1963. It housed some of the world´s most dangerous criminals over the span of twenty-nine years. I chose to write about Alcatraz because I like the history of weird and creepy places, which Alcatraz is. Alcatraz is creepy because there are many claims that people have heard the cries and moans in cell blocks A, B, and C. I also chose to write about this because I wanted to learn more about Alcatraz. Someday I want to go there. This essay will explain why an Army prison was turned into a federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island, who were some famous inmates that once occupied a cell there and, it will detail some of the attempted escapes from Alcatraz.
I believe the use of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is an act of imperialism. In October of 1985, President Ronald Reagan stated that the purpose of continuing to hold Guantanamo Bay is purely political, to impose U.S. presence (History of Cuba). In 1991, we began using the naval base as a prison. Many reports of people being tortured have been made. The people of Cuba keep trying to take the bay back, but an agreement signed in 1934 basically gave the United States the right to hold Guantanamo Bay until both parties agreed to make modifications to the situation. There is no need for the United States to impose on Cuba anymore, and it is simply out of our own selfish desires that we continue to hold this base, therefore proving our country's imperialistic
Guantanamo Bay, though started with good intentions, only highlights America’s negative side. Marine Major General Michael Lehnert, who played a significant role in the opening of Guantanamo, has drastically changed his opinion and said that it, “Validates every negative perception of the U.S.” (Sutton 1). One example of this occurred in 2006, when President Bush justified the use of “physical coercion” (torture) during interrogations (Fetini 1). Some of these torture methods include isolation, beatings, sleep deprivation, and general abuse. Other tactics such as disrespect for Islamic symbols or sexual provocation are used to encourage stress in detainees (Bloche 1). These immoral methods led to an international outcry. It was later remarked that the Cuban territory upon which Guantanamo is located is being used as a “concentration camp” of sorts (Fetini 1). Guantanamo and its unethical values are being recognized by nations around the world, displaying America in a bad light.
In the United States, one of the major methods in obtaining crucial information has been through the use of Guantanamo Bay. While many have condemned of the torture that is believed to occur there, not only does Guantanamo Bay comply with national and international standards, but it also complies with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (Meese 1) which states
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is originally a naval base that was once used to house detention facilities for Haitian and Cuban refugees fleeing to the United States. It was also used as a refueling station for Navy ships. It was then converted into a high level detention facility to house enemy troops captured in the War on Terror campaign by Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfield. It has three main camps that house the prisoners. These prisoners of war were later referred to as enemy combatants. They were excluded from the prisoner of war statutes of the Geneva Convention because of their involvement in a foreign terrorist organization and therefore earning themselves the title of terrorists. The Guantanamo Bay Detention Center served as the perfect location to send these terrorists. It allowed the United States to strip them of any due process or protection that is provided by US law. Due to its location, being in foreign territory they are only subjected to military law. They are close enough for them to be monitored without interference of intentional agencies or international oversight. Furthermore, the US Government is holding these men without due process because they are deemed too dangerous to be released into the public because of their associations with terrorist organizations and possession of valuable information relating to National Security such as location of key members of a terrorist groups, whereabouts. However, the United States cannot release those