GITMO 4-17-2013

17, April 2013                       GITMO

How we can claim to be a nation of law abiding citizens who respect international law and watch the wasted lives of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay?  Many have been incarcerated for more than a decade and have been tortured mercilessly violating every norm of civilized behavior. Most prisoners have never been charged and many others have been declared innocent but inexplicably remain in prison. An increasing number have refused to eat and are being forced fed. See the New Your Times op ed, April 15, 2013 “Gitmo Is Killing Me.” 

Dr. Gerald Thomson, professor of medicine emeritus at Columbia University, was highly critical of the brutal practice of force-feeding prisoners and said this amounted to torture. There is little doubt that these prisoners will die if President Obama does not hold firm on his election promise to close down this hell-hole and release those innocent of any crimes. He should offer an apology and reparations for all those who have been horribly abused. Failure to do so will only encourage other hostile nations to emulate our falling standards of behavior and plunge our weary nation in more wars and unending conflict. President Obama, who claims to be a devout Christian, should heed the message of his Guru and return our nation to one of love, charity and respect for international law.