Afsan Bhuiyan

Mrs. Latham
English 2010
03/30/2015
Guantanamo Bay Humane Treatment of Terrorists
Guantanamo Bay prison is located in Cuba. After 9/11 George Bush wanted to create a
GITMO(Guantanamo Bay) prison to interrogate terrorists. The GITMO prison is owned by the
U.S since a lease agreement was signed. The camps have great facilities that the detainees
receive, and the detainees that cooperate will get transferred to a better camp. The U.S
interrogates the detainees by waterboarding, forced nudity, sleep deprivation, temperature
extremes, stress positions, and prolonged isolation to be safe, legal, ethical, and effective.
(Neglect of Medical Evidence) The detainees usually come from Iraq or Afghanistan, and most
of the detainees are Muslims. I believe the interrogation methods used on detainees in GITMO
prison is humane, and justified.
First of all, the Geneva Convention only applies to prisoners of war, and not to spies or
terrorists. (Torture Is a Just Means) Also, the Convention against Torture only applies to own
countries soil. (Torture Is a Just Means) The detainees are being interrogated legally because
they are in another country other than the U.S. If the detainees were in the U.S soil then the
Geneva Conventions applies to them. The Bush administration made their own rules of
interrogation to the detainees in Guantanamo Bay. Also, the detainees terrorists, so they are not
treated as prisoners of war. The terrorists are the ones who are trying to kill U.S soldiers and
take over the U.S; if the terrorist is captured then the U.S have the right to take care of the

terrorist however they want. The intention of the interrogators are to gain information from the
detainees.
Second, some of the interrogations such as forced nudity is justified and humane. The
intention of the interrogators is to belittle the detainee, so he feels powerless. (Torture Is a Just
Means) If the detainee is powerfulness from being humiliated then he will depend on his
interrogator to get his protection. The only way to get protection from such interrogations is to
give answers to the interrogators. If you think about it the detainee is not being killed at all. The
detainee just needs to cooperate with the U.S military, but if he doesnt then he is interrogated till
he gives answers. The U.S military is trying to use their time effectively, so they use the most
effective humane interrogation method to gain information from the detainee in a short time as
possible. Using light interrogation will not help obtain information from the detainee, and time
will be wasted. Although the detainee may give false confessions when interrogated, but the
information will be checked. If the information is false then the detainee will be continued to be
punished. Also, some may believe that forced nudity is abusing their religion because Muslim
detainees are not allowed to expose their private parts to anyone other than their spouses. The
interrogators job is to gain information from them. As long the intention is to gain information,
and not abusing their religion then stripping their clothes is fine.
You have to understand that the U.S military interrogates the detainee to get essential
information out of them to save other peoples lives. What is the point of keeping a detainee well
treated if they are no use of keeping. Detainees are interrogated in every way possible to get any
information out of them whether the information is false or true because every information from
the detainees counts. Of course the information has to be analyzed before the information is
utilized for military purposes. Showing sympathy for the detainees wouldnt help you get any

information from them. Any information from detainees is important, and torture will likely
force the detainees to say the truth. If torture, humiliation, and abuse is needed to get information
from the detainee to save several lives then extreme torture is needed for the detainee.
Also, the U.S military privately tortures the detainees, so Al Qaeda/Taliban/ISIS
wouldnt use the situation with detainees in Guantanamo Bay as a propaganda. The tortures will
be kept secret and not exposed. If any torture is exposed then terrorists will use it like a
propaganda. Osama Bin Ladin is using the horrible situation in Guantanamo Bay which he says
he mentioned the crimes at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo which shook the conscience of
humanity. (Jamie Tarabay Abu Ghraib Closes) as propaganda to recruit members (Sunni
Muslims).
The U.S military says that the detainees are treated very well, but only if they cooperate.
There are pictures of the facilities the detainees get from the U.S Department of Defense by
Army Sergeant Sara Wood. For example, there is a picture An arrow in the barracks room in
Camp 4 points the direction to Mecca, the Islam holy city, so the detainees know which way to
face if the call to prayer sounds. Camp 4 is the medium security facility within Camp Delta at
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.(Wood, Sara, SW. Military Commission). The
detainees get religious facilities in camp 4 only if they cooperate. The detainees will get
interrogated, but if they are having any physical or mental illnesses then they will be treated and
the interrogation will continue. Any detainees not getting the proper medical care should be
charged with abuse of detainee. The main goal of the interrogators is just to make the detainees
powerless and treating them when they are ill, and repeating this procedure over and over again.
There are people who want to close of Guantanamo Bay because they believe the torture
methods are inhumane and create chaos around the world. There has been an incidence where an

interrogator thrown a prisoners Quran on the floor, stepped on it, and kicked it across the
room. (Report: Torture and Cruel). The guards should respect detainees holy book. There
should be more guards who will witness and report everything that is happening in the GITMO
prison to make sure no guards are violating the detainee. If any guards or any interrogators
violate the detainee then they will be charged of violating the law of taking care of detainee.
Sometimes we may be interrogating a detainee who has no charge of terrorism. Since our
intention is just to interrogate terrorists then interrogating anyone who is most likely a terrorist
is permissible. Of course the detainee will get the right to go to their lawyer if here is possibility
of the detainee being innocent.
The Guantanamo Bay prison is owned by the U.S in Cuba. The detainees in GITMO
prison are prisoners of war who are terrorists usually from Afghanistan or Iraq. There have been
camps that are created in the GITMO prison, and each detainee gets transferred to a better camp
depending on the detainees cooperation. The only interrogation that are legal, safe, ethical and
effective are waterboarding, forced nudity, sleep deprivation, temperature extremes, stress
positions, and prolonged isolation. (Neglect of Medical Evidence). The treatment and
interrogation of detainees are humane and justified which will help the U.S military track down
terrorists and save lives.

Work Cited
"Torture Is a Just Means of Preventing Terrorism." Idebate.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Tarabay, Jamie, J.T. "Abu Ghraib Closes, Bitter Memories of Torture Remain | Al Jazeera
America." Abu Ghraib Closes. Al Jazeera, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.
"Neglect of Medical Evidence of Torture in Guantnamo Bay: A Case Series." PLoS Medicine
8.4 (2011): E1001-1006. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.
"Report: Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment of Prisoners at Guantanamo
Bay." Center for Constitution RSS. CRR Justice, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
Wood, Sara, SW. "Military Commission Proceedings at Guantanamo Bay - U.S. Department of
Defense Official Website." Military Commission Proceedings at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Department of Defense Official Website. United States Department of Defense, 11
Nov. 2004. Web. 02 Mar. 2015.