Perhaps initially they thought it very clever, but Guantanamo is perpetuated like a pyramid scheme: one lie, prejudice, fear and/or illegality built upon another and perpetrated upon America, our citizens as well as the rule of law. President George W Bush claimed that all those held at Guantanamo were arrested on the battlefield. Not true, many were picked up in an illegal fashion, legally it would be defined as kidnapping, in various cities/countries and when no conflict was ongoing. President Bush and others have also claimed that all those held are terrorists. Again, many would not even qualify for designation as “suspects.” Rather, their initial seizing of such individuals and continued detention is justified on basis of religious identity , prejudice and a circuitous reasoning. Perpetuating Charade in Order Not to Admit Mistakes & Illegalities: The US Government suggests that it would have no motive to seize and detain individuals unless there was good evidence. However, motivation in perpetuating the scheme is in not having to admit and be held accountable for the mistakes, flawed methodology, and/or illegal actions presumably undertaken in the greater interest of national security. Of course, it also allows for the same actions to be repeated in new cases citing the old precedent. Claims of confidentiality as to evidence and methods are trotted out on the public and legal stage. Most Americans do not go beyond this veneer, and never hear the many cases of individuals who the US Courts (based on Supreme Court intervention) order released. They though are frequently bombarded by examples of those who were freed from Guantanamo, and then purportedly “returned” to terror. Of course, little is offered in terms of proof that they were terrorists in the first place. Did the experience and injustice of Guantanamo turn them as well as many others against the United States and American interests? Is the US by way of Guantanamo manufacturing more enemies than it can imprison or kill? Guantanamo-Might of Power, Weight of Prejudice & Legality of House of Cards: Guantanamo is a crudely rationalized contradiction to the rule of law but maintained with the massive weight of fear and an insurmountable political/bureaucratic pressure. Perhaps as bad as the original injustice is the effort to justify such in the eyes of America’s citizens. It means that the US Government goes to extreme lengths to never acknowledge a mistake in judgment or methods and thus implicitly/explicitly feeds prejudice and fear. All at Guantanamo are deemed suspect just because they have a Muslim identity, even if they may not be observant or religious. It is now fashionable to exhibit one’s objectivity by offering the hypothesis that "while all Muslims are not terrorists, all terrorists are Muslims". Guantanamo is a prison surrounded by barbed wire, clouded in secrecy presumably justified by national security, and maintained largely on basis of prejudice and on false or flawed assumptions built one upon another like a house of cards. President Obama as well as President Bush have to be accountable, and the first step is to speak plainly to the American people even if the plain truth may unravel embarrassing admissions. It may be hooded, faceless, shackled prisoners that we see, but it is American principles that are now chained to the dungeon floor. New York Times Takes Note: The New York Times has hosted two articles of former Guantanamo inmates – both of whom were released after extended detention never justified: --- Murat Kurnaz, a Germany resident, was held for 5 years on basis of summary review by a Guantanamo Board: “ I was brought before what officials called a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, at which a military officer said I was an “enemy combatant” because a German friend had engaged in a suicide bombing in 2003 — after I was already at Guantánamo.” Even upon Mr. Kurnaz’s release, US officials have tried to perpetuate the legal fraud of presumption of guilt:“When we landed, the American officers unshackled me before they handed me over to a delegation of German officials. The American officer offered to re-shackle my wrists with a fresh, plastic pair. But the commanding German officer strongly refused: “He has committed no crime; here, he is a free man. I was not a strong secondary school student in Bremen, but I remember learning that after World War II, the Americans insisted on a trial for war criminals at Nuremberg, and that event helped turn Germany into a democratic country. Strange, I thought, as I stood on the tarmac watching the Germans teach the Americans a basic lesson about the rule of law.” Read More at NY Times on Murat Kuranz’s story: - www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/opinion/sunday/notes-from-a-guantanamo-survivor.html?ref=sunday Lakhdar Boumediene was picked up in Bosnia & Herzegovina and sent to Guantanamo by US and some intimidated Bosnian officials acting in direct contradiction to evidence, legality and an order from a Bosnian Court. He was one of 6 picked up and “renditioned.” He was held for 7 years: “Some American politicians say that people at Guantánamo are terrorists, but I have never been a terrorist. Had I been brought before a court when I was seized, my children’s lives would not have been torn apart, and my family would not have been thrown into poverty. It was only after the United States Supreme Court ordered the government to defend its actions before a federal judge that I was finally able to clear my name and be with them again.” Read More at NY Times on Lakhadar Boumediene’s story: - www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/opinion/sunday/my-guantanamo-nightmare.html?ref=sunday Shame President George W Bush, President Barak Obama and those in the US State Department and Pentagon who preach the rule of law but apply it selectively, and America and Americans suffers the consequences. Top Photo: From Article by - Lawrence B. Wilkerson was chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell and is chairman of the New America Foundation/U.S.-Cuba 21st Century Policy Initiative. At www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2009/03/some_truths_abo/ Bottom Photo From: International Business Times: - uk.ibtimes.com/articles/120049/20110308/obama-guantanamo-bay-detention-terrorism-order-shut-down.htm By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook – Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX War Crimes Justice” Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice