december, your points have been addressed by several posters so don’t say nobody responded…
>> the report doesn’t mention the exemplary treatment being given the prisoners in Cuba, in terms of food, shelter, medical care, etc. AFAIK they have better treatment than any group of prisoners in history.
They have been shown hooded and shackled. They are being denied communication with their familes and legal counsel.
>> That one-sidedness is typical of AI’s anti-Americanism.
That is a gratuitous swipe which is typical of you
>> They weren’t arrested; they were captured during a battle.
That is an irrelevant quibble which makes no difference to the fact that they are being mistreated. And the USA denies them the status of captured prisoners of war so “arrested” seems like an appropriate word.
>> Since when have fighters caught during a battle ever been provided with these things?
Again, the USA is denying them the status of prisoners of war which are NOT accused of any crime and are only held until the end of hostilities. The USA is considering them criminals and criminals should be accused and tried promptly and should be given access to counsel and due process of law.
>> Whether the Geneva Convention applies is a debatable point, for reasons that have been addressed in earlier threads, which an honest report would acknowledge. However, the prisoners’ level of care fully meets the Geneva Convention requirement for POWs.
This has already been answered. The USA is not abiding by the Geneva Convention in determining whether they are or not in fact to be considered prisoners of war. The USA is in breach of the convention just by that. And they are being denied outside communicating which goes against the Geneva convention as well.
>> “There were conerns”??!! How can one evaluate such a vague statement, in the passive voice? Who was concerned and with what grounds?
How about AI is concerned because some of them are held at undisclosed locations, the USA will not release a list of those it is holding etc. Is this not cause for concern? This is too close to the disappearances in dictatorships and definitely cause for concern.
>> How many of the 1200 were deprived of safeguards under international law? In what way were they so deprived?
You don’t read the news do you? They have been held incommunicado, denied acces to legal counsel etc. You know it full well. Read the full AI report.
>> Death sentences continued to be imposed and carried out under state and federal law.
>> And, properly so.
My opposition to the death penalty is not too strong but there is no question that it puts the USA on the wrong side of the issue, in opposition to all the developed world and in company with the worst countries in the world. I would say that just this is a good reason to rethink the issue.
>> No doubt, somewhere in the United States there have been cases of police brutality, deaths in custody and ill-treatment in prisons and jails. That’s true of every prison system that ever existed. The proper question is whether the US record is abnormal.
I agree that these things probably happen in every country and AI mentions it where ever it happens. Acts committed by the government (like the points above) are much more serious than acts committed by individuals against the laws. But by your reasoning in other threads, if they happen it must mean the government allows them to happen. While I am not blaming the government for the acts, I think they should do everything possible to stop them from happening in the future.
>> AI has a hard-on for the United States. Too bad. Otherwise they could be a useful organization.
The stupidity of this phrase is astounding and I won’t bother with it. But it helps understand why you are pitted so often. I will reserve my comment for the pit.
