Administration Draws Fire for Report on Guantánamo

Posted by Justin Bresolin

The recent pentagon inspection on the behalf of the Obama Administration that declared Guantánamo Bay prison as adhering to humane conditions is being criticized by both human rights groups as well as lawyers of the detainees as being false, accusing the report of being a public relations gesture to lessen criticism of the actions taken place their while the new presidency works to shut the prison down.
Admiral Walsh, the inspector appointed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, admitted to the widespread accusations of human rights violations, but determined after interviews with prisoners and staff that Guantánamo complied with standard set by the Geneva Conventions. The report addressed 27 categories of human treatment as they related to the Convention’s ban on “humiliating and degrading treatment,” citing areas for improvement.
Detainees’ lawyers, however, issued their own report along with letters by their clients, citing human rights violations such as severe isolation, brutality by the staff, and despair to the point of self-injury by detainees. Critics note the fact that the pentagon reports came from a senior official of the department in charge of the prison’s management.
The clash of viewpoints demonstrated here can lead to more problems for the fledgling Obama Administration, and the closing of this infamous facility can lead to increased scrutinizing of the United States’ upholding of human rights policies, a country whose influence has frequently allowed them to avoid such investigation (or prosecution) in the past.