Clear the air at Guantánamo Bay. Our Opinion: Congress Should ...

[struggle4progress]

Investigate Prisoner Abuse

There seems no end to the complaints about abuses at U.S. military prisons. Thank federal courts and defense lawyers for bringing to light the latest allegations of religious abuse of terror suspects at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base. Add this to the questionable treatment that should be investigated there, a prison that, unlike Abu Ghraib, was tightly controlled by the Pentagon from its inception.

The allegations raise concerns about what the military says in public and does in private. Military authorities consistently have described prisoner treatment at Guantánamo Bay as being respectful of Islam, the faith of accused Taliban and al Qaeda captives. Though these men were supposed to be the ''worst of the worst'' terror suspects, they were issued Korans and prayer rugs, called to prayers five times a day and provided a Muslim-appropriate diet. The point was to demonstrate America's religious tolerance and project U.S. understanding that a few, violent, religious zealots don't define Islam or its practitioners.

Yet recently declassified court documents allege that, as far back as 2002, some of Guantánamo's staff cursed Allah, threw Korans into toilets, mocked prisoners during prayers and deliberately took away prisoners' pants knowing that Muslims can't pray unless covered. Imagine a U.S. prisoner of war who is a devout Christian having his Bible tossed into the toilet or his rosary taken away. The U.S. government would rightly denounce such offenses as human-rights violations. <snip>

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11077241.htm