The Obama Administration claims that all the evidence against ‘detainees’ held at Guantanamo was reevaluated when it took office, and that some Bush Administration decisions were reversed. Nevertheless, according to Die Zeit columnist Martin Klingst, the release of the ‘Guantanamo papers’ by WikiLeaks makes it imperative for President Obama to follow a course of ‘complete public disclosure.’
For Die Zeit, Martin Klingst writes in part:
These WikiLeaks documents bear witness to what was frequently blind persecution in a moment of extreme national shock. They describe the chaos, the hate-filled zeal, the lack of professionalism the sometimes the fatal lawlessness of the anti-terror campaign. They report on the tensions between the guards and the guarded. They document methods of confessions exacted under torture. They document false accusations made by fellow detainees and often flimsy evidence.
Some men fell into the hands of Middle East terrorist hunters just because they had a ticket to Kabul in their jacket pockets or identified themselves with forged travel documents – and so were sent on to Guantanamo. Others found their way there because no one understood the languages they spoke, had the wrong friends or could neither read nor write. Often, the error only revealed itself after years of captivity – and often only after the legal system had taken action. And even then, some had to wait an eternity for their release.
According to Barack Obama, his government took a new assessment of the detainees and their dangerousness just after his election two years ago. Grievances and misunderstandings were resolved and the evidence subjected to the most rigorous examination. After these tests, officials in some cases came to different conclusions than those of the Bush Administration. But these new assessments remain confidential.
Because President Obama hasn’t made a radical break with the disastrous policies of his predecessor on Guantanamo – contrary to his promise – his protestations can hardly be believed. At this point, the only option is to escape into the open, i.e.: complete public disclosure. Obama must lay everything completely out, without exceptions, and explain why 172 Guantanamo detainees remain locked up. The secrecy must come to an end.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, your most trusted translator and aggregator of foreign news and views about our nation.
