Patterico's Pontifications

10/3/2006

Patterico’s Exclusive Interview with a Man Who Has Spoken to the Terrorists at Guantánamo (Part Two: Stashiu Arrives at GTMO and Describes the Terrorists)

Filed under: General,Terrorism — Patterico @ 6:13 am



[This is Part Two of my exclusive interview with “Stashiu,” an Army nurse who worked at Guantánamo, and who spoke on a regular basis with detainees with psychological and/or behavioral problems. Part One was published yesterday and can be accessed here. In today’s entry, Stashiu talks about his arrival at GTMO, and discusses the true nature of the detainees who are being held there.]

Stashiu Arrives At GTMO

Stashiu has been in the U.S. Army for 23 years, and is due to retire soon. Since September 11, he has been trying to get deployed to help fight the war on terror. After all, the reason he had joined was to be deployed. He was on the list to go to Iraq, but had been retained by his boss stateside for a long period of time because his boss liked his work and wanted to keep him around. His first chance at a deployment came with his assignment to Guantánamo. Finally, Stashiu was getting his wish, and he was excited.

Stashiu arrived at Guantánamo aboard a plane operated by Delta Airlines. Although military aircraft fly into and out of GTMO, the military also uses Delta to ferry passengers to and from Guantánamo Bay.

When you come in to Guantánamo Bay, Stashiu told me, you realize right away that you are entering a Communist country. Security is handled by military personnel, but there is a level of tension far different from that present at other places Stashiu has traveled to. It reminded him that Castro’s Cuba lay just around the corner — a malevolent place where the dying dictator has tortured and killed too many to count.

The facility is, as advertised, on Guantánamo Bay. Incoming personnel arrive at an air strip located on the leeward side, and take a ferry across the bay to the windward side where the detention facility is located.

As he approached the Guantánamo facility’s Camp Delta along Skyline Drive, one of the windy roads on the way to the camp from the ferry, Stashiu felt the scene seemed surreal. He knew he was about to take part in a historical set of events, and he was excited.

For reasons of operational security, Stashiu could tell me little about the physical layout of Guantánamo. When I asked, he said that there is

[o]ne large area called “The Wire” which houses Camps 1-4. Camp 5 is a separate facility modeled on a supermax. Camp 6 is under construction and will be similar to Camp 5. Those are the main detainee areas. There are some other areas that fall under Joint Task Force-One large area called “The Wire” which houses Camps 1-4. Camp 5 is a separate facility modeled on a supermax. Camp 6 is under construction and will be similar to Camp 5. Those are the main detainee areas. All of this is public knowledge.

That’s about as far as Stashiu was willing to go, but — in an ironic nod to the paranoid lefties — he did take care to say that there are “no super-secret torture chambers.”

Speaking with Terrorists Daily

Stashiu’s title was Division Officer for Behavioral Health Services, which meant he spent hours talking to terrorists about what makes them tick. He shares these insights with you in this post.

The certificate accompanying Stashiu’s medal explains his title and duties:

As Division Officer for the 22-member Mental Health Unit, he oversaw the administrative functioning and quality of care for all detainees requiring mental health services. [Stashiu] . . . was responsible for the selection and Behavioral Health Training of all guard staff assigned. During a critical period of the deployment, he demonstrated exceptional leadership by coordinating the relocation of the Inpatient Psychiatric Detention Block into the new Behavioral Health Unit. . . . Through his distinctive accomplishments, [Stashiu] reflected credit upon himself, the United States Army, and the Department of Defense.

As a practical matter, Stashiu’s job meant that he spoke with detainees. A lot. Stashiu was at Guantánamo from November 2005 until May 2006. During that time he spoke with most of the terrorists and enemies of the United States who resided there. More than half of the detainees had been seen or treated by Behavioral Health — but a smaller number were “on service,” meaning they received regular psychological services from Stashiu and his colleagues. Stashiu cannot disclose the actual number or percentage of detainees “on service.” However, as we will see, he can say that most of the detainees are not mentally ill according to their psychiatric diagnosis in the common usage of the term.

Sometimes Stashiu and his colleagues provided psychiatric services at the request of detainees. Other times, these services were provided at the request of guards who believed that the detainee had a mental issue, based upon the detainee’s behavior.

Either way, Stashiu’s conversations with the detainees were often quite in-depth:

I talked to many of the detainees there at one time or another, sometimes for hours upon hours to build a rapport. Some of the hardest ones in there would do things for Psych that they would never do for guards.

(All emphasis in this post is mine.)

Stashiu told me about an inmate who had attempted suicide on a number of occasions, and said:

I talked with him for literally hundreds of hours. He was obviously our biggest challenge and was still alive when I left, nor was he one of the three successful suicides that occurred after I came back to the States.

Stashiu’s conversations with the detainees were often conducted in English, without the help of translators. Did most of the detainees speak English? I asked.

Many (probably most) speak at least some English, some are quite fluent. Some learned in Cuba from other detainees or from talking with guards and translators. Almost without exception though, they will ask for an interpreter at some point. Sometimes it is to try and pry information from the interpreter. Other times it is to avoid answering an uncomfortable question, for whatever reason. Plus, any time they go through an interpreter, they can claim that they were misunderstood due to faulty translation. The concept of reasonable doubt does not hold much sway for them, people are believed or disbelieved more for the relationship between the two people more than any affection for the truth.

Stashiu explained that there was an inpatient and outpatient side to the Psych Unit. He told me:

The inpatient side housed detainees with mental illness, active suicidality which required suicide precautions, and occasionally someone who was so disruptive they couldn’t be managed on a regular block. The outpatient side went out daily to see detainees on the blocks. Some were seen every single day, others up to every three months… whatever was needed to ensure their safety and stability.

The inpatient side consisted of a state-of-the-art psychological facility. Although noncompliant detainees were sometimes taken here, it was always because they had psychological issues. This was a mental health facility, not a disciplinary facility.

I asked Stashiu whether he got to know any of the detainees by name. He said:

I knew all of the ones on service by name and talked to most of them. Some of them nearly every day I was there. Like most deployed personnel, I worked many more than 40 hours a week.

However, Stashiu did not generally refer to the detainees by their proper names — though there were exceptions:

We were discouraged from using their names while talking with them. Each detainee had a identifying number which is how they were referred to. In practice, most of us used a mixture of name and number, depending on what we were talking with them about. If I was trying to get someone to take medicine they needed, I would use their name, or if possible, a familiar nickname used by other detainees to build rapport and persuade them. We have to do this in military and civilian psych facilities all the time because there are many people with mental illness who believe they don’t need medication for one reason or another.

Most of what I did involved talking with detainees and building rapport, even when it didn’t involve mental illness. Because some of the most disruptive detainees could control their behavior if they chose to, we could intervene at times and de-escalate situations.

He explained to me that the military staff also avoided using their own real names, for obvious reasons of safety. As I mentioned in the first post in this series, “Stashiu” is not only the name used in this post, it is also the name by which the detainees knew him.

Think Ted Bundy

Stashiu is not able to share specific details of conversations he had with specific individuals, for reasons having to do principally with patient confidentiality, and in part with operational security. But he can give you, the reader, a good overview of what types of human beings are being detained at Guantánamo Bay.

I asked him that very question: what are the detainees like? Stashiu said:

For many of them, think Ted Bundy. Educated, charming, and without conscience for those they consider infidels. Some are truly ill and were taken advantage of because of it. For example, one routinely asked us for an explosive suicide vest so he could assassinate Osama Bin Laden or George Bush for us, whoever he could find first (he was completely serious).

But we’ve heard that many of the detainees at GTMO were innocent, I said. Does Stashiu believe that — and does he have a basis to know one way or the other?

I didn’t see any that I believe were totally innocent, although it wasn’t my call and it really didn’t matter to their care. We got how much I could know about their history changed because I contended that if I couldn’t validate their history as given to us, my staff couldn’t give adequate treatment. It would be too easy for detainees to lie about the presence or absence of a family history. If they told us the truth about some of the circumstances relating to their capture, we could have some confidence in other information they gave. And they almost always tried to tell that part of their story. The biggest rule we had to follow in guiding staff was to never share any specific intel so that intel and therapy were as separated as possible while still providing good care.

There were a few detainees there who weren’t actually fighting against the Coalition, but they were fighting their own government and would have been executed if we returned them there. Since we are not allowed to ship someone where we have reason to believe they would face torture or death, they are stuck at GTMO until we can find a country to accept them without killing them. But they were combatants of some sort.

The Manchester Document

But, as someone who is familiar with the backgrounds of many of the detainees, does Stashiu think the majority are really terrorists, or just folks who have been scooped up by accident? He said:

I believe that the majority of the guys there are true terrorists, and they follow the Manchester Document to the letter.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Manchester Document, it is an official Al Qaeda training manual that was discovered by British police in Manchester, England while searching the computer of a known Al Qaeda terrorist. You can read it here. An article posted on the Defense Department’s web site explains that, according to the manual:

If you’re a Muslim extremist captured while fighting your holy war against “infidels,” avoid revealing information at all costs, don’t give your real name and claim that you were mistreated or tortured during your detention.

As Stashiu explained it, the mission was: “deny, deny, deny.” A recent article in the New York Times Magazine says of the Manchester Document:

Officials at the detention facility at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, say they see clear evidence that detainees are well-versed in its contents.

Stashiu agrees with this wholeheartedly.

What Drives the Terrorists?

I asked Stashiu what motivated the terrorists incarcerated at Guantánamo to join Al Qaeda, or whatever terrorist group they were members of. He said that the reasons varied.

That’s why you can’t really profile within the Muslim countries. They come from all backgrounds, classes, and income levels. Some had servants, some were servants, some of everything.

There was, however, a common and obvious thread: they fought against the United States due to religious zeal and hatred of Americans.

Most detainees were quite up front about this hatred, and some were also very forthright about their actions and intentions — like the detainee who said:

I am part of Al Qaeda. I want to kill an American before I leave Cuba. I will do whatever it takes.

Stashiu met many of the men quoted in the New York Times Magazine article. One of them was quoted in the article as fully admitting at his military tribunal that he had fought against the United States. Stashiu told me he had heard the man say identical things, like:

I will make this easy for you, I fought against American troops.

The man also spoke of having built an explosive device to attack Americans.

Building a Rapport . . . Of Sorts

Of course, such admissions were not part of the protocol set forth in the Manchester Document, which calls for detainees to deny, deny, deny. (Recall that even Osama bin Laden initially denied any involvement in 9/11.)

So why would a detainee break protocol? Stashiu explained to me that when you talk to someone for hours and hours, you can sometimes build a rapport with them.

He cautioned that the psych personnel never interrogated the detainees:

They were questioned by military intelligence folks and we kept a strict separation from them to avoid any appearance that our knowledge of their medical and psychiatric background could be used to exploit weaknesses. There were psych personnel there to advise intel on avenues to explore, but they did not have access to medical or psychiatric histories. . . . We just avoided getting into things that interrogators were seeking. We were never to actively gather intelligence and could have gotten in trouble if we were trying to be James Bond or something.

But, he explained, it was nevertheless his job to get detainees to open up and share their thoughts, simply for their psychological health. Stashiu did that in many ways, one of which was to appear to disclose things about himself. If you appear to share things about yourself, he told me, the human inclination is to reciprocate. This is something he was taught when he learned about human psychology, and it works.

This is the way Stashiu was able to build a rapport even with people who threatened his life — like the terrorist referenced at the beginning of my first post, who told Stashiu that he planned to have Zarqawi cut off the heads of Stashiu’s family, while Stashiu watched — and then Zarqawi would cut off Stashiu’s head.

Of that detainee, Stashiu said: “And I was one of the people he liked.”

“There Are Some Truly Evil People There . . .”

Stashiu was reluctant to go into detail about the murderous nature of the detainees.

Never heard anyone come out and admit to me that they had killed anyone. I intentionally avoided these types of topics as they were not of therapeutic benefit… nowhere to go with them. Talking about them would only interfere as they may start to think that I was trying to gather intel.

Stashiu is unable to discuss the details of specific information that is not in the public domain. I could get him to say only this:

I mentioned the guy who admitted making bombs, would it suffice to say that he had a lot of comrades?

Although he couldn’t discuss specifics, he said:

[M]y opinion is that there are some truly evil people there. To be fair, some honestly believe that what they do is right.

Of course, that is true of many evil people.

Stashiu learned many interesting stories about the detainees during the course of these conversations. Some of these were occasionally amusing.

One guy was living proof of Murphy’s Law… no matter what he did, it ended up turning to shit on him and he is lucky just to still be alive.

Can the detainees be reasoned with? I asked. Or is their indoctrination so complete that there’s just no reaching them? Are there any of them who are reasonable enough that Stashiu would feel safe if we were to let them go free?

I don’t know that anyone is beyond reason, but I also don’t know more than a couple who I think might be ok to release. “Might” being the operative word there, I wouldn’t give the go-ahead on my own for any of them. There I are couple I could understand and would not go out of my way to protest their release. I can tell you that if I ever saw a detainee face-to-face here in the States, I would immediately assume that I was targeted and do my best to kill them without further warning. If I turned out to be wrong about their intent, I could live with that.

How do officials decide who to release?

[T]he ARB (Annual Review Board) looks at the big picture and is very thorough. The conditions for release include, but are not limited to: 1) No longer a danger to the U.S. or its interests; 2) Not being returned to an accepting jurisdiction that the detainee would face the likelihood of torture or death; 3) Has convinced Intel that he has no further information of value. There are other considerations, but I didn’t deal with that side of the house much.

I asked what gives the detainees nightmares. Stashiu said:

Taking this question literally, the same things that give us nightmares. Many have been in combat and seen enough to have consequences, PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] and the like. Concerns about their family while they are detained and plain homesickness are also significant stresses.

What do they think will happen to them?

Broad range of answers here. Many of the hardcore jihadists hope to be released and to rejoin the fight. Some believe they will never leave Cuba, others that when they do leave, they will be killed as traitors because they cooperated with interrogations.

I’ll end this part of the interview with a question I consider critical. Does the enemy think they are going to win this war?

Stashiu gave me a detailed answer, but made it clear that it is his opinion — not a statement of the beliefs of the detainees with whom he has spoken. Still, since he has talked to the detainees for hours, it is probably worth paying attention to his opinion. Stashiu’s view is this:

In my opinion, most of them are sincere in their belief they will win for the following reasons:

a. They are told they are assured of victory by their religion. They are raised with the belief that Islam is destined to become the dominant way of life for this planet. No matter how long it takes, it is inevitable. Once Islam is supreme, there will be no war, crime, poverty, or need. These are frequent talking points every Friday in the mosques.

b. Their leaders consistently stress that jihad is working and our culture is a hollow shell. They point to VietNam, Somalia, 9/11, Madrid (both the bombings and the elections immediately following), and the anti-war propagandists here in the United States. . . . The jihadists are constantly told that America is weak-willed and will turn and run if they can be inflicted with enough damage and peace can be delayed long enough.

c. They believe they are more committed to victory at any cost because it is all in God’s name and is the Will of God. They point to our efforts at minimizing both our own casualties and those of civilians. You never see them worry about collateral damage and destroying infrastructure. They see our compassion as weakness and our integrity as blindness to reality.

Tomorrow: Stashiu discusses the hunger strike, the suicide attempts, the suicides at Guantánamo, and the mental health of the detainees.

93 Responses to “Patterico’s Exclusive Interview with a Man Who Has Spoken to the Terrorists at Guantánamo (Part Two: Stashiu Arrives at GTMO and Describes the Terrorists)”

  1. Very interesting so far, Patterico. Thank you for bringing it to us. Can’t say I’ve formed any judgements yet, trying to read with an open mind.

    Robert (91f2c5)

  2. […] Read it all. There’ll be more coming this week. But note this, especially in light of Frist’s comments yesterday about the Taliban: In my opinion, most of [the prisoners] are sincere in their belief they will win for the following reasons: […]

    Hot Air » Blog Archive » Inside Guantanamo: Patterico interviews Gitmo psychologist (d4224a)

  3. Stashiu and Patterico – Thank you.

    SFY (95f754)

  4. In my opinion, most of them are sincere in their belief they will win for the following reasons:

    This points out one of the better ways to win against them.

    a) Monitor the mosques and find ways to silence jihadist imams and call on moderate Muslims to denounce them

    b) shut down madrasas (in Pakistan and elsewhere) that “teach” memorization of the Koran and nothing else thus leaving their students illiterate

    c) educate their girls and women

    d) kill every one of those already committed to jihad

    Dubya (c16726)

  5. Patterico’s Interview With Former Army Nurse At Gitmo…

    Part two…….

    The Political Pit Bull (64479c)

  6. […] Patterico has part two of his series on Guantanamo Bay: Stashiu Arrives at GTMO and Describes the Terrorists). […]

    FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Guantanamo Bay Watch: The Inside Story Part 2 (baa0b4)

  7. What Terrorists at Guantanamo Bay Say…

    Patterico is running a five part series interviewing an army nurse who worked there. I did not get to this yesterday but I hope to follow the entire series of posts. My first impression is that terrorists are not very……

    The Jawa Report (315fb9)

  8. […] Read the second part of the interview with a Major who was stationed at Gitmo and worked daily with the terrorists at Patterico’s. […]

    Pursuing Holiness » Blog Archive » The Enemy Believes They Will Win (bc33d8)

  9. Thank you for your many years of service to our nation, Stashiu.

    Desert Rat (a90377)

  10. Stashiu:

    For many of them, think Ted Bundy. Educated, charming, and without conscience for those they consider infidels.

    I tend to focus on the jihadis’ actions – the dangers they present and the evils they perpetrate – but it’s also important to understand our enemies. (That’s one reason why Patterico’s series with Stashiu is exciting.) To me, the most intriguing aspect is that some leaders are educated, charming and could be one of us. Is this correct, Stashiu? Are they like us or are our differences in religion and culture too great to bridge?

    DRJ (ccb97e)

  11. […] Part Two: Stashiu arrives at GTMO, and tells us what the terrorists are like. Stashiu is not able to share specific details of conversations he had with specific individuals, for reasons having to do principally with patient confidentiality, and in part with operational security. But he can give you, the reader, a good overview of what types of human beings are being detained at Guantánamo Bay. […]

    Never Yet Melted » Interviews with a Guantánamo Staff Nurse (be406a)

  12. A look inside Gitmo….

    And from the inside. This won’t be broadcast by the media – it doesn’t fit the script. The person writing this is a Major, in psychiatric services. He contacted Patterico, established his bonafides in the first of a 4 part……

    Rusted Sky (5bef0a)

  13. Very worthwhile and interesting to read. Thank you.

    Mike Myers (f8ce82)

  14. To me, the most intriguing aspect is that some leaders are educated, charming and could be one of us. Is this correct, Stashiu? Are they like us or are our differences in religion and culture too great to bridge?

    I’ve always believed that people are pretty much the same everywhere. You can put any two people of goodwill together and they will find common ground. The hard part is convincing people not of goodwill that it is counter-productive to focus on differences.

    Stashiu3 (404f9e)

  15. We could be screwed under these conditions, theyre never going to stop as long as they keep breeding and teaching this hatred for the west.

    Viper1 (67d769)

  16. I appreciate this interview and thank both of you for it.
    As a retired correctional officer I would like clarifying points on the desire to separate the mental health from the intel. I can understand building a rapport and not undermining any trust but if the intel gained by mental health would save an American life it should be shared. I understand, when later, you said that intel could be pointed in certain directions. I wouldn’t favor a Jamie Gorelik type wall of separation.
    I am also a retired Air Force intel type (SIGINT) and I understand how information can be sanitized to conceal the source of the information.
    I do understand where you’re coming from and the need to maintain an appearance of independence.
    Oooking forward to the rest and when it’s complete will certainly email my friends with links to the posts.
    Thanks and take care Major.

    tom scott (7479b7)

  17. From comment #4:

    d) kill every one of those already committed to jihad

    I haven’t posted here in a while — my last post several weeks ago was only commented on by one person who questioned whether I too was a terrorist.

    But this is the only rational approach to an enemy who is committed to kill you — kill them first.

    Charlie (8546d8)

  18. This is a very interesting series. However, I think it’s a mistake to quickly generalize the attitudes and actions of the Guantanamo prisoners to islamic extremests in general.

    By the time Stashiu saw these guys, I believe most of them had been imprisoned for a couple of years, at least. He’s seeing the effect of those years, I think, as much if not more than the person they used to be.

    Frankly, anyone who wasn’t a terrorist at heart when they were captured probably is one after a couple years of being held without any hope of release, subject to interrogation, with no news of family or life on the outside. Why wouldn’t you want to fight your captors after that?

    In other words, Stashiu isn’t seeing what the terrorists on the outside think of America; he’s seeing what people who have been held without hope of release for years by the U.S. government think of America.

    Stashiu doesn’t know that the terrorists think of America, or what their motivations are. He knows what people imprisoned without any rights for years in a no-mans-land think of America.

    Phil (88ab5b)

  19. Interesting theory Phil (#20), please share whatever evidence you have to support that hypothesis.

    Jeff Sullivan (834899)

  20. Stashiu, do you come away feeling that they’re going to win? Thanks.

    Wilson (2e6b16)

  21. – “We will rule the world, and will keep myrtyring ourselves until every last one of us is dead” – Definately a winning stratedgy

    Big Bang Hunter (9562fb)

  22. Charlie (#19):

    You also have to stop others from becomming committed to killing you as you eliminate those already committed. Silencing the jihad preachers and shutting down their brainwashing madrassas must get first priority.

    Educating their women will work against their pre-medevial attitude that views women as chattel.

    Dubya (c16726)

  23. … of being held without any hope of release …

    Phil, this is no different for anyone captured and detained in a war, POW status or not. Well, depending on who was doing the detaining, some would just kill prisioners, POW or not. Being held until the end of hostilities is SOP for POWs and any other detainees who don’t get executed.

    Understand, this is not a legal punishment, combatants are detained to prevent them from attacking us again. Law enforcement concepts do not apply.

    Although, since the Supreme Court has ruled that the Geneva Conventions apply, even though Al Qaeda is not a signatory, it follows that Al Qaeda memebers can be prosecuted for war crimes under the Conventions. But that also will have to wait for the end of hostilities.

    larry (336e87)

  24. Since when did bin Laden ever deny being involved with 9/11?

    Seixon (571751)

  25. Larry, I’m not addressing the legality or the propriety of the Guantanamo camp itself.

    I’m simply pointing out that drawing direct conclusions about how islamic extremists and/or terrorists think by referring to the opinions of the prisoners at Guantanamo might be a mistake.

    I’m also pointing out that how these people feel about America now, after years of incarceration, is probably influenced as much by their incarceration itself as by any prior experiences.

    Phil (88ab5b)

  26. Well Phil, do you think John McCain’s status as a tortured POW made him more susceptible to terrorism?
    If not, why not? Do you think any of the American military members in Viet Nam became terrorists because of their incarceration? I personally don’t think so because they were not terrorists to begin with but I’m interested in your opinion.

    tom scott (7479b7)

  27. – Let me see if I’ve got this right Phil. A terrorist tells you point blank he lives for the single purpose to hate and kill you and all American’s, and you immediately discount that, doubt his intentions, and look for other “nuanced” reasoning.

    – At what point do you begin to believe he really means what he says? Would the feeling of his sabre slicing through the flesh of your neck finally convince you, or would you be busy thinking about the evils of oil?

    Big Bang Hunter (9562fb)

  28. Interesting that they refer to weakness in the West like madrid elections and the American left. I would love to get the Democratic leadership on record to their thoughts of Al Qaeda seeing them as an asset to Al Qaeda in winning the war on terror.

    Thomas Miller (b34465)

  29. If one were anything but a most comitted terrorist, he’d be trying to convince his captors they had made a mistake, that he was as harmless as a fuzzy little bunny.

    spongeworthy (45b30e)

  30. – Bin Laden’s endorsement of Kerry told us all we needed to know about the Left.

    Big Bang Hunter (9562fb)

  31. Big Bang Hunter:

    They don’t use sabers like in the movies or on “Over There” — they use dull machettes to saw heads off. I watched the snuff video of Nick Berg: those bastards are really psycho.

    Dubya (c16726)

  32. […] So begins an extraordinary series of posts by Patterico. Read ‘em; part 2 is here. That is all. […]

    Cold Fury » Blog Archive » Journalism, its own self (6f4592)

  33. Phil:

    Nothing like listening to somebody try to scream when his windpipe is severed below the larynx to stiffen your spine. You should watch one of the beheading videos and see where your sympathy lies then.

    Dubya (c16726)

  34. I would love to get the Democratic leadership on record to their thoughts of Al Qaeda seeing them as an asset to Al Qaeda in winning the war on terror.

    It probably wouldn’t be all that different from Bush’s response to the NIE determining the war in Iraq is an asset to Al Qaeda’s recruiting efforts.

    rick (ea2ac3)

  35. – Yes. People get really annoyed when you fight back.One of the Lefts best reasons for running away from the fight. Let the Bullies take your lunch just once, and respond by just walking away, and you’ll go lunchless forever.

    – That is one of the worst reasons the Left could possible muster. But then they don’t believe there’s a war going on. As childish as it gets. Convienient when you’re simply afraid to face your enemies.

    Big Bang Hunter (9562fb)

  36. It is wrong to claim that the detainees have to wait till the end of hostilities for a reslution of their cases. In the first case, cases of detainees have already been resolved and people released. The military knows they are holding some innocent people and have admitted as much.

    Secondly, if the war is against terror and terrorism, hostilities will never end. Terror is a state of mind and terrorism is a tactic and neither will be defeated, as Bush wisely admitted before his handlers told us that wasn’t what he meant.

    Also Stashiu explains to us that there is an internal review process to determine if people should be released.

    Shashiu, I would be curious to know if you ever talked to any detainees who were later released and if so weather you felt when you met them that they were terrorists. You said that you don’t feel any of them are “totally innocent”. What does that mean exactly?

    Paul (eda7b9)

  37. Good stuff, although one could wish for more detail. I especially think it interesting that the motivational points for the jihadists include our weak-sister left in this country–just as I suspected. Too bad this interview will not be widely known in the general public…the actual damage being done to us by our own left might be tamped down with more exposure of this sort.

    Thanks to both of you

    harold kildow (8db2df)

  38. It says a lot about the status of the media when a blogger, as far as I can tell, is the only one to really provide some real in-depth, fascinating news about such a hot button topic from the perspective of the U.S. military on the ground (so to speak). And verifying the information/source so as to ensure that the source is credible (do you hear that Dan Rather).
    Granted, the source has their own biases, but it at least gives a glimpse at what the U.S. military is dealing with.
    Meanwhile, typical lazy media outlets parrot the lines from Amnesty International and other groups about the poor souls at Gitmo and how they are being abused by cruel marines.

    Outstanding work.

    The Sandman (12c851)

  39. Guantanamo Bay Live II…

    Patterico continues his interview with the Army major here:Can the detainees be reasoned with? I asked. Or is their
    indoctrination so complete that there’s just no reaching them? Are
    there any of them who are reasonable enough that Stashiu would……

    Dawnsblood (95d97e)

  40. #36 rick,

    so, you’re equating a policy of going after terrorists by trying to kill them as being the same as supporting them by trying to weaken our policies towards them?

    perhaps you ought read this line again: “The jihadists are constantly told that America is weak-willed and will turn and run if they can be inflicted with enough damage…”

    In the face of that, I presume you think “cut & run” would be the course to winning?

    rightonq (0f1db6)

  41. That is one of the worst reasons the Left could possible muster

    The NIE wasn’t written by the Left; it came from America’s intelligence agencies.

    …so, you’re equating a policy of going after terrorists by trying to kill them as being the same as supporting them by trying to weaken our policies towards them?

    America’s intelligence agencies have concluded that the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq have been a boon to the recruiting efforts of Al Qaeda and the jihadists.

    rick (ea2ac3)

  42. #43…

    America’s intelligence agencies have concluded that the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq have been a boon to the recruiting efforts of Al Qaeda and the jihadists.

    … and continues to conclude that if we kick their asses there, they will be less likely to join jihad….

    You should probably read it rather than trying to spin it.

    Dubya (c16726)

  43. #43 rick

    you already said that the invasion was a boon to recruiting in your first comment. My reply was a quite clear rebuttal, but instead of responding to the rebuttal you repeated your original statement.

    I realize that the left mistakes repeating something over and over again for debate, but my point was that your analogy sucked. Care to try again?

    rightonq (0f1db6)

  44. The interview series is great.

    Since Patterico doesn’t post an email address, I’ll drop this note here – for lack of any better place.

    When the L.A. Times gets it right, they should get some credit too. See this review of their coverage of the Amish school shooting. It looks like they at least have some professionals left on staff.

    http://www.getreligion.org/?p=1930

    Don (d3560d)

  45. My reply was a quite clear rebuttal…

    Your reply was a non-sequitor sandwiched between two strawman arguments.

    …[the NIE] continues to conclude that if we kick their asses there, they will be less likely to join jihad…

    .

    It concludes much more than that, including the assessment that if current trends continue, things will get much worse for us, not better.

    rick (ea2ac3)

  46. It concludes much more than that, including the assessment that if current trends continue, things will get much worse for us, not better.

    Which is all the more reason to send more troops, not pull them out. Read this for example.

    Dubya (c16726)

  47. Which is all the more reason to send more troops, not pull them out.

    Maybe, but Mr. Bush isn’t proposing that we send more troops to Iraq, so it looks as if the current trends to which the NIE refered will continue

    rick (ea2ac3)

  48. Many people seem to mistake wartime detention for criminal incarceration. On Dec. 8th, 1941, a young man named Sakamaki stumbled ashore on the north-east coast of Oahu — captain of a midget sub that had run aground after the previous day’s attack, he fell into the arms of a beach patrol and became the first of over a million Axis prisoners we’d hold until (in most cases) 1946. (Some of our allies held prisoners for much longer).

    He never had a lawyer, and was never charged with anything. There was no trial. He was a lawful combatant serving in the uniform of his country — while some of his superiors would hang for war crimes, he was released at war’s end.

    Until this conflict, when the Supreme Court inserted their gargantuan lawyers’ egos into it, unlawful combatants, who did not wear uniform, acknowledge a chain of command, or observe the laws and usages of war, were subject to summary execution, and occasionally given the privilege of a military tribunal before hanging. An earlier, less self-absorbed Supreme Court, gave that the thumbs-up, notably in Ex Parte Quirin. Quirin staggered ashore on a beach, too, but he was a saboteur, armed but working outside of the laws of warfare.

    The courts have been abominable in this field of law recently, but the spines-of-straw in the Administration have not helped. They have been over backwards to accommodate these monsters, accommodation which is seen (predictably) as weakness.

    I know one of the detainees well, as it was my team that put him there. We had statements and other evidence implicating him in almost 200 murders, most of which were not in furtherance of his position as a Taliban commander, but in exploitation of it for financial gain. (He has since confessed to over 300 murders). He killed people because they were strangers, or Hazaras (a much hated ethnic group), or — most commonly — because they had something he wanted.

    People called him by his profession — “Teacher”. This is the sort of person that the NY Times, he Atheist Criminal Lovers Union, and the most implacably evil group on earth, the lawyers, seek to elevate.

    Fortunately, it is likely that he will be released at some time to his native Afghanistan, where he will be tried, and hung, the Afghans not quite having the same attitudes towards these fellows that reign in the aeries of chic Manhattan.

    God save the United States. It’s clear He’s absent from the courts, these days.

    Kevin R.C. 'Hognose' O'Brien (88bf29)

  49. I can tell you that if I ever saw a detainee face-to-face here in the States, I would immediately assume that I was targeted and do my best to kill them without further warning. If I turned out to be wrong about their intent, I could live with that.

    That, ladies and gentlemen, says a lot…

    W (a0651b)

  50. hey Rick,

    How do I communicate with a retard? Let me see if I can make this clear for that sub-50 I.Q.of yours. The Bush example you post speeds Al Qaeda’s martydom quest. Yhat’s a good thing. The one I site, where the dems are used by Al Qaeda as an asset that promotes their cause and delays martdom is a bad thing. If I’ve used any words here to big for you to understand, ask your special-ed teacher to show you how to use a dictionary.

    Thomas Miller (9ddfc6)

  51. Thank you, Mr Miller, for that very thoughtful reply.

    rick (ea2ac3)

  52. Thomas Miller,

    I try to keep things a little more civil around here and would appreciate it if you’d cooperate with me on that.

    Patterico (de0616)

  53. Patterico continues to scoop the MSM on Gitmo…

    Patterico’s series of interviews with a nurse at Guantanamo continues, and we’re getting into the meat of the matter here. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. What are the Gitmo detainees like? Someone who dealt with them and……

    JunkYardBlog (621918)

  54. When are we going to get actus in here to bring a little moral clarity to this swamp of emotional confusion.

    Actus, we need your wisdom, now more than ever.

    Progressive Thinker (20136d)

  55. When are we going to get actus in here to bring a little moral clarity to this swamp of emotional confusion.

    Heh! That’s rich.. only the lefties are confused about this thread, so lets get some more in here to really stir things up.

    As to what to do about those detained at GTMO and what impact their “fragile, damaged psyches” will have on society when they’re released, I would say keep them there until they die of natural causes. Life sentences for murdering both our soldiers and civilians with no chance for parole.

    Dubya (c16726)

  56. keep them there until they die of natural causes

    But then again, a couple of $0.45 full metal jackets rounds would be a lot cheaper.

    Dubya (c16726)

  57. Very Informative Thank you very much gentlemen

    joelunchpail (968397)

  58. I knew this would be good. Thank you again gentlemen.

    X_LA_Native (1bf144)

  59. I know little about jihadists other than what I read on the net and in Bernard Lewis, but I have earned my daily bread in mental health for 30 years. The description of the detainees as persons without conscience, held for several years and with little hope of release in the near future, sure that they are right, describes some of my patients, especially the pedophiles. It might be reasonable to believe that they would act as rick suggests, with their hatred deriving from their incarceration, but that’s not what I generally see. Those who hate arrived with it, those who are manipulative arrived with it.

    What is likely to change over time is the relationships of detainees to each other. While some will become more fiercely and unchangeably loyal to each other, others will be held by the group culture more tenuously. Shared anger may be a good model for terrorism, but it’s not so great as a way of living with other people.

    Assistant Village Idiot (a6a2ac)

  60. […] This should win an award. I mean a real major award for reporting at it’s finest. Pulitzer? Stashiu is the real thing and doesn’t trust the so called msm not to lie about what he says. He provides us the first real look inside Guantanamo. What he says is either chilling or inspiring. You’ll have to decide for yourself. I don’t know that anyone is beyond reason, but I also don’t know more than a couple who I think might be ok to release. “Might” being the operative word there, I wouldn’t give the go-ahead on my own for any of them. There I are couple I could understand and would not go out of my way to protest their release. I can tell you that if I ever saw a detainee face-to-face here in the States, I would immediately assume that I was targeted and do my best to kill them without further warning. If I turned out to be wrong about their intent, I could live with that. […]

    Orfinanny » Blog Archive » Patterico’s Scoop Part II (b47fcc)

  61. Stashiu and AVI,

    Are you saying that some terrorists and pedophiles are essentially sociopaths?

    DRJ (ccb97e)

  62. Great piece. Thanks gents. And Stashiu, thank you for your service and insights, they are appreciated.

    Mr. Miller – Keep a civil tongue.

    Thanks,
    The Hobo

    Robohobo (5f90b0)

  63. #20. Phil
    Interesting theory and possible in a hypothetical way. Of course, you’d have to assume that most were completely innocent guys snatched up and detained for no reason, that my training and experiences were worthless in taking that into account, and that your gut-feelings on what the situation was is more accurate than someone who was actually there. Other than those things, very possible. Thanks for the input and I would be interested in what you think of the rest of Patterico’s postings.

    #38. Paul

    I would be curious to know if you ever talked to any detainees who were later released and if so weather you felt when you met them that they were terrorists.

    I wouldn’t be able to comment on that, sorry. Even if it was my call to make.

    #63. DRJ,

    Speaking for myself, although I think AVI might agree, many terrorists, pedophiles, and other criminals would meet the diagnostic criteria for Anti-Social Personality Disorder, which used to be called Sociopathy. So in general, the answer is yes, some are essentially sociopaths, although it would be outside my scope to make an official diagnosis. I can only use it as a descriptor of behavior.

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  64. I assume there is no rehabilitative goal in your interactions with the Gitmo detainees and the point of dialogue is, first, to gain useful intelligence and, second, to treat them humanely. If so, how did that affect you from a professional perspective?

    DRJ (ccb97e)

  65. I assume there is no rehabilitative goal in your interactions with the Gitmo detainees and the point of dialogue is, first, to gain useful intelligence and, second, to treat them humanely. If so, how did that affect you from a professional perspective?

    Patterico’s upcoming posts will address this in more detail, but that would be incorrect on two points. Our first goal was always safety and humane treatment. Secondly, I was never involved in actively gathering intelligence because the therapy side is completely separate from the intel side. Really no conflict of interest there as my professional duties did include rehabilitative and therapeutic goals.

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  66. Bill’s Bites — 2006.10.04…

    The webmaster’s blog-within-a-blog. Continuously updated, newest items at the top. Please click here to learn more about The Phoenix Project, then click here to see a selection of Old War Dogs merchandise. All sales proceeds go to support The Phoenix…

    Old War Dogs (72c8fd)

  67. Stashiu,

    Thank you for responding to my questions and feel free to skip this if I’m getting ahead of Patterico’s schedule.

    They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and it’s apparent my knowledge of psychology is just enough to make me dangerous. Having said that, how exactly can you rehabilitate a (pardon my old-fashioned terminology) sociopathic terrorist? I have a vague recollection that sociopaths aren’t good candidates for rehabilitation. In addition, it’s speculation but I doubt the medical textbooks have a section on terrorist rehabilitation. That must be very challenging.

    DRJ (ccb97e)

  68. Stashiu,

    One more question and I promise to desist. How knowledgeable are the GTMO detainees about Americans? You mentioned that several speak English and that they are united in their hatred of Americans. I wondered if their hatred is based on what we really are or what they perceive us to be. (Perhaps it doesn’t matter either way.)

    DRJ (ccb97e)

  69. There are textbooks on rehabilitation and therapy in correctional settings which have a lot of research-based therapies that may be tried. No one thing will work with everyone, you personalize the care as much as possible. You’re right about it being a challenge. You can only work for small improvements over time, anything else is unrealistic.

    I don’t think anyone said they are united in their hatred of Americans. If they are, it is certainly to widely varying degrees. I also think you are correct to wonder what their motivation is. If it’s perception, by showing our true values and respecting them at the same time, they can start to understand that people are pretty much the same anywhere.

    They’re no smarter or stupider than we are, and are capable of changing their opinions of us based on their experiences. It’s getting past the deep indoctrination that they have been exposed to most of their lives. The ones who hate us for what we truly are… no limits on what they may do.

    Good questions, thank you.

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  70. I don’t think anyone said they are united in their hatred of Americans.

    Stashiu,

    I think the commenter is referring to this passage in the post, which is my wording and not yours — though it’s based on things you said:

    There was, however, a common and obvious thread: they fought against the United States due to religious zeal and hatred of Americans.

    I think that’s a slightly different concept; it can be a common thread without their being “united” or experiencing hatred to the same degree as one another.

    Still, if you think that passage is inaccurate, let me know and I can do an edit with an update. Things do sometimes get lost in translation.

    Accuracy at all times is the key.

    Patterico (de0616)

  71. I read it as being an and/or thing, and I would contend one or both of those traits are present in all of the ones who fight against the United States. If there is a better way to phrase this, feel free to edit it appropriately as I know you understand what I meant. Especially if you believe someone may look at that without reading down to these comments. I agree that being as accurate as possible is key.

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  72. I assumed that both traits were present to *some* degree in all of these folks — just that one or the other might strongly predominate in some.

    Is that wrong, in your opinion?

    Patterico (de0616)

  73. It may be correct or there may simply be some correlation there, if I said I knew for certain, that would be a lie. As a practical matter I don’t think it makes a difference. People fight for different reasons and with different degrees of effectiveness. I am rarely comfortable stating things in absolutes because one exception will blow you out of the water. I talk mostly about what I’ve seen and heard, but there may be other motivations that I was not exposed to (mercenary fighters, revenge for perceived injustice, family loyalties, financial gain, power, etc…) It gets tricky when you try to pin down root causes because you can’t read minds to be certain.

    I think it’s correct enough as it stands if people read the comments for explication. I don’t know how else I would suggest phrasing it without adding these posts as well. Maybe qualifying the word “common” with, “fairly common” to keep open the possible rare exception? I believe most had both to some degree, but can’t say with certainty that it’s 100% and I don’t know anyone who could.

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  74. When some try to pass distortions and lies for the truth, I admit the content of my replies won’t pass the gentlemen’s test here. I’m upset at what the left is doing to this country. Free speech allows me to post as long as I don’t threathen anyone. On any future postings I’ll do my best to refrain from bruising the delicate egoes of my targets.

    Thomas Miller (9ddfc6)

  75. […] Patterico has part three of his series on Guantanamo Bay: Stashiu Arrives at GTMO and Describes the Terrorists). […]

    FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog » Guantanamo Bay Watch: The Inside Story Part 3 (baa0b4)

  76. […] Can a terrorist “get to know” and sort of make friends with Americans and decide he doesn’t want to kill them? Patterico has a multi-parter, an interview with a fellow who has spent time among the prisoners of Gitmo and has gotten to know some of them well. Yeah, they still want him to die and his family, too, and they’re promising to kill him, but it’s nothing personal…just business. Read this fascinating and extensive interview, if you read nothing else today: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Parts 4 and 5 to come. I suggest printing these out and giving them full attention. […]

    The Anchoress » A questionable turn about the ’sphere (1b383c)

  77. Just a peeve about the NIE, from what I understand, the finished product was the culmination of several months research and review by elements of 16 separate intel agencies. The portions released are a declassified summation that was provided to Congress back in Apr 06. BEFORE al-Zarqawi earned his 72 virgins. The material found with the remains of al-Z (AFTER the NIE report) show al-Qu’ada is very much struggling and, contrary to the NIE, is having difficulty recruiting, training and retaining jihadis. The perception in the ME seems to have shifted and al-Qu’ada and bin Laden are now mocked and derided. Strength is all–and we’re proving we’re not the paper tiger they thought we were.

    The NIE is a valient effort–to justify budgets and protect careers. One of those “things will get worse, unless they get better” hedge-your-bets documents. Concrete generalities. -cp

    cold pizza (599927)

  78. Regarding comments #72 through 75 – the use/difference between “common” and “united”

    I have to agree with Patterico’s distinction between the two concepts. Might I suggest that the message was intended to be: Though the apparently universal [the hatred of Americans] is a common sentiment, the motivations for it are not universal. Each individual reaches his point of [hatred for all Americans/the west] through his own unique path and life circumstances. The end result might be the same–the individual chooses to join the Jihad–but the path to that end can vary.

    I’ve never frequented this blog before (found it when someone in Ringo’s Tavern on Baen’s Bar posted a link here). This was a great introduction to both of you (actually, Stashiu3 is a name I HAVE seen on a few milblogs I visit ;-))

    Patterico and Stashiu3, thank you so much for both spending the time and effort to make the information available to the rest of us. I appreciate how much effort must be going into this, both to sift out data that cannot be revealed while preserving the gist of the message, as well as the back and forth decisions you two must be going through on how to coherently present the conversations. You’re doing a great job!!

    Referring back to the discussion about “universal hatred of the west,” I generally use the term RIF to clump “all of them” together in a very Us-Them manner. I know it is generalization, but the universal memes DO come through. I’m an American-Israeli, strong supporter of the troops (both US and Israeli military), though I have something of a pacifist streak in me. I don’t object to war, I realize it’s necessary when talking gets you nowhere and actually, I’m pretty much in the camp of “Enough, stop talking and just wipe them out so the rest of us can get on with life.” But I can’t accept senseless violence, esp. against innocents or even not-so-innocent civilians.

    I prefer to call the “WOT” the “RIF’s War on Peace.” I call it this because it seems to me that anywhere peace breaks out, the RIF’s are waging war on it, as though they are more concerned with not allowing the violence to die down, perhaps, for fear it might stop altogether–and then where would they be? In a peaceful world that is NOT universally Muslim. Huh. How’d that happen?

    I’m much more familiar with small pockets of Radical Islamic communities, terrorist approaches to the Propaganda War and of course, the organizations that affect Israel up close and personally (Hezbollah, Hamas, Fatah, Al-Aqsa, Islamic Movement). I often say it is hard to keep them all straight–I’m even sick and tired sometimes at trying to keep them straight–because there ARE universal themes here. They DO all hate peace. It seems as though they really don’t know what to do with the possibility of it. When you walk away and stop fighting them, they come running after you to start it again (see the ongoing “Palestinian violence” more than a year AFTER Israel completely pulled out of Gaza). And then there are the so-called “moderate Arab Nations” (Arab League members, mostly). Half the time, I’m not even sure THEY know if they are fighting for peace or for war.

    So my follow-on question to Stashiu3:

    Did you get a sense from the limited number and limited demographic with which you had contact that this “fear of peace” was as universal as I’ve been sensing? Or would you suggest to me that I’m over-generalizing again? Look forward to your thoughts.

    Again, REALLY enjoying the essays. Thank you both for spending the time and effort on it.

    -sry
    Sarah R. Yoffa
    http://sarahryoffa.blogspot.com/

    -sry (8d51ed)

  79. …Free speech allows me to post as long as I don’t threathen anyone. On any future postings I’ll do my best to refrain from bruising the delicate egoes of my targets.

    It’s Patterico’s blog and his rules, so free speech is not our “inalienable right” here.

    Civil discussion is much more pleasant for everyone, eh?

    Dubya (c16726)

  80. #80 Sarah

    Sorry I missed your question earlier, I had missed the last two comments on this thread until you posted on the third one. I’m glad I had already answered and if I miss any more questions, please bring it to my attention. I want to address everything addressed towards me even if the answer has to be “I don’t know” or “I can’t say”.

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  81. […] [This is Part Three of my exclusive interview with “Stashiu,” an Army nurse who worked at Guantánamo, and who spoke on a regular basis with detainees with psychological and/or behavioral problems. Part One can be accessed here. Part Two is available here. […]

    Patterico’s Pontifications » Patterico’s Exclusive Interview with a Man Who Has Spoken to the Terrorists at Guantánamo (Part Three: Hunger Strikes, Suicides and Suicide Attempts, and the Detainees’ Mental Health) (421107)

  82. —It probably wouldn’t be all that different from Bush’s response to the NIE determining the war in Iraq is an asset to Al Qaeda’s recruiting efforts.

    Is that the partially leaked NIE that when fully examined shows that Iraq is considered a vital center by these jihadist that want to kill us or another NIE that has been leaked. I am starting to lose track of all the ways that liberals are trying to get us killed.

    gogipper (b70d4e)

  83. Stachiu- Great stuff, but, I’ve got to call you on this. This ‘separation of intel from treatment’ is nothing but something those ACLU lawyers and their ilk have put into your profession over the years. It wasn’t like it was just last year; but in the years past, and basing on past cases, they have injected that it would be ‘bad’ to do that. Nuts! I know you won’t comment on it, but, did you have them tell you about actions they were planning that you could not relate because that would be ‘intel’ and not adherant to some treatment protocol? I know you realize that there is no doctor-patient privledge here. Who are you trying to protect? THEM? What do you fear? I applaud your work and service, but I abhor your professions intent here. You CANNOT separate ‘treatment’ from ‘intel’ work- that is, and should be, impossible from a realistic point of view.
    And in case you think I’m some sort of Pollyanna, I served 2 straight years in Baghdad working to finish these guys off, and continue to work to serve to this day. Get off it- there is VERY little you could compromise by talking more and working more to explain what is going on- I certainly don’t hold back in my talks to the public (check BLACKFIVE) and my work is Public Affairs- I’ll relate it all- our mantra, ”Tell the truth, tell it NOW’ is very very hard to uphold in this day and age- DoD hasn’t totally caught up to that principle yet.
    Not until America can get the real truth, WHOLE truth, and a realization WE ARE AT WAR will we finally be able to mobilize adequately and WIN. These guys are willing to wait generations; are we?
    I truly despise people without integrity- politicians.

    Tripper

    Baghdadguy (46f16d)

  84. Baghdadguy:

    …I’ve got to call you on this. This ’separation of intel from treatment’ is nothing but something those ACLU lawyers…

    Think about it this way. Would you want a doctor who specializes in orthopaedic surgery (bones, blown-out knees, etc.) operating on your brain?

    The separation is professional and reflects specialization.

    Dubya (c16726)

  85. Gitmo aka Guantanamo Bay…

    These terrorists, these non legal combatants, THROW FECES AT THE GUARDS….. do we understand this? Personally, if anyone flung feces on me, I would beat the crap out of them,(no pun intended) but thats just me….

    Wake up America (a91ef5)

  86. Dubya-
    What that meant was, do you want that surgeon or psych(iatrist/ologist)or other provider who is treating one NOT to tell someone when the detainee spills info about something that may be of critical importance? Not doing so, in war time, should be criminal. These ‘people’ have surrendered any normal consideration when they took up violent actions against someone else- ANYone else. They just picked the wrong country to mess with. Maybe had they started with France… say, flown a jet into the Eiffel… what reaction would that have brought on?

    Yes, they throw feces and other bodily ejections. Happens all the time on psych wards, to include regular hospitals. Its a part of the job, very unfortunately. Too bad the Abu G. guards couldn’t have been as professional as the GTMO guards have become.

    Baghdadguy (46f16d)

  87. The truth of Club Gitmo…

    I found a very curious, interesting, insightful, and educational post over at dicentra’s blog (Dicentra’s Garden). Her post contains information and perspectives not commonly found: “The true story of Club Gitmo”.
    In this post, …

    Muslihoon (fced9f)

  88. […] A blog called Patterico’s Pontifications has an interesting five part (1 2 3 4 5) interview with a Major at Guantanamo known to the terrorists there as “Stashiu.” He has been reading and commenting on the blog, and agreed to an interview. […]

    sammytaylor.net (5c8fa9)

  89. […] An Army nurse who said he worked at its medical facility for a year until last May wrote in a blog (that would be in Part 2 of Patterico’s series — Ed.) that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill a former detainee if he saw him in his town. […]

    Bizzyblog » Weekend Question 3: Why Aren’t We Hearing More Stories of Military Heroism (and Why Does That Make CNN an Enemy Ally)? (34f45e)

  90. Great boyseb2b0c8dd07a072cbe01c78cdd3d5bb0

    freemusicdownloads (df6f02)


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