What I Saw at Gitmo

[Note: Gordon Cucullu is a retired Army Green Beret Lt. Colonel and author of Separated at Birth: How North Korea Became the Evil Twin.]

Last week, I was privileged to be part of a Department of Defense trip to the Joint Task Force - Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I got to see the operations of this “controversial” facility up-close – something particularly important after Sen. Richard Durbin’s comparison of its guard to Nazi stormtroopers and calls of leftists to shut the center down. Our group went to GITMO to check out tales that the military was being too tough on these terrorist detainees. We left convinced that America is being extraordinarily lenient – far too lenient.

After speaking with soldiers, sailors, and civilians who collectively staff GITMO, I left convinced that abuse definitely exists at the detention facilities, and it typically fails to receive the press attention it deserves: it’s the relentless, merciless attacks on American servicemen and women by these terrorist thugs. Many of the orange jumpsuit-clad detainees fight their captors at every opportunity, openly bragging of their desire to kill Americans. One has promised that, if released, he would find MPs in their homes through the internet, break into their houses at night, and “cut the throats of them and their families like sheep.” Others claim authority and vindication to kill women, children, and other innocents who oppose their jihadist mission authorized by the Koran (the same one that hangs in every cell from a specially-designed holder intended to protect it from a touching the cell floor – all provided at U.S. taxpayer expense). One detainee was heard to tell another: “One day I will enjoy sucking American blood, although their blood is bitter, undrinkable….” These recalcitrant detainees are known euphemistically as being “non-compliant.” They attack guards whenever the soldiers enter their cells, trying to reach up under protective facemasks to gouge eyes and tear mouths. They make weapons and try to stab the guards or grab and break limbs as the guards pass them food.

We dined with the soldiers, toured several of the individual holding camps, observed interrogations, and inspected cells. We were impressed by the universally high quality of the cadre and the facilities. While it may not be exactly “Club GITMO,” as Rush Limbaugh uses to tweak the hard-Left critics who haven’t a clue about reality here, GITMO is a far cry from the harshness experienced even by maximum security prisoners in the U.S.

Meals for detainees are ample: we lunched on what several thought was an accumulated single day’s ration for detainees. “No,” the contract food service manager said with a laugh, “what you’re looking at there is today’s lunch. A single meal. They get three a day like that.” The vegetables, pita bread, and other well-prepared food filled two of the large Styrofoam take-home containers we see in restaurants. Several prisoners have special meal orders like “no tomatoes” or “no peanut products” depending on taste or allergies. “One prisoner,” General Hood said, “throws back his food tray if it contains things he has specifically said he doesn’t want.” How is he punished for this outrageous behavior? His tray is numbered, the food he requested is put on it, and the corrected “order” is delivered to his cell.

The detainees are similarly catered to medically. Almost every one arrived at GITMO with some sort of battlefield trauma. After all, the majority were captured in combat. Today they are healthy, immunized, and well cared for. At a visit to the modern hospital facility – dedicated solely to the detainees and comparable to a well-equipped and staffed small-town hospital with operating, dental, routine facilities – the doctor in charge confirmed that the caloric count for the detainees was so high that while “most detainees arrived undernourished,” medics now watch for issues stemming from high cholesterol and being overweight. Each of approximately 520 terrorists currently held in confinement averages about four medical visits monthly, something one would expect from only a dedicated American hypochondriac. Welcome to the rigors of detention under American supervision.

Of the estimated 70,000 battlefield captures that were made in Afghanistan, only a tiny percentage, something on the order of 800-plus, were eventually evacuated to GITMO. These were the worst of the worst. More than 200 have been released back to their home country – if the U.S. is assured that the detainees would not be tortured by local authorities upon return. These men were freed because they were deemed by ongoing official military review processes to no longer pose a threat, or to possess no useful intelligence. And this process has proven too generous at times: more than 10 released GITMO detainees have been killed or recaptured fighting Americans or have been identified as resuming terrorist activities. Still, the process is up and running for review of cases, and if a Washington DC circuit court approves a government appeal, the system for military tribunals will get started. All mechanisms are in place and ready to go as soon as DoD gets a green light.

There is a good reason these unlawful combatants are being confined. They are evil and dangerous individuals. Yet these thugs are treated with an amazing degree of compassion: They are given ice cream treats and recreational time. They live in clean facilities, and receive a full Muslim religious package of Koran, prayer rug, beads, and prayer oils. An arrow in every cell points to Mecca. The call to prayer is played five times daily. They are not abused, hanged, tortured, beheaded, raped, mutilated, or in any way treated the way that they once treated their own captives – or now treat their guards.

Some questioned whether it were wise to give these radical Islamic fundamentalists the religious supplies that ended up landing them in GITMO in the first place. “Giving them the Koran is simply something that we think we ought to do as a humane gesture,” said second-in-command Brigadier General Gong. “We’re Americans. That’s how we operate.”

When we challenged military authorities about the seemingly plush environs these would-be murderers receive, the commanding officers stated this was the most productive course. JTF-GITMO commanding officer Brigadier General Jay Hood radiated confidence and determination when fielding challenges from our group about his overly lenient treatment. “It works,” he says simply. “We do not allow torture or mistreatment, period.” How do they guarantee this? By rigorous, on-going training and constant oversight up and down the supervisory chain. As proof that “establishing rapport” with the detainees is far more effective than coercive techniques, General Hood refers skeptics to the massive amount of usable intelligence information JTF-GITMO continues to produce even three years into the program.

You are right to worry about inhumane treatment taking place at GITMO. But your concern should be for the dedicated, well-trained, highly professional American men and women who are subjected to a daily barrage of feces, urine, semen, and spit hurled at them along with vile invective as they implement a humane, enlightened system of confinement on men who want nothing more than to kill Americans. These quiet professional Americans, who live under the motto “Honor Bound for Defense of Freedom,” deserve our utmost respect and concern. Shame on anyone who slanders or disrespects them for short-term and short-sighted political advantage.

Part 2
Mothering Terrorists at Gitmo

[Note: This is the second installment of Col. Cucullu's observations made during his recent trip to Gitmo. The first installment appeared yesterday.]

We've all heard wild tales about the interrogation techniques employed at Guantanamo Bay. Allegedly, these include sleep deprivation, drugs, overheated cells, seductive women, and even Christina Aguilera music (true torture). In addition to enjoying the kind of first-class meal these would-be terrorists enjoy everyday during my trip to Guantanamo Bay last week, I also learned part of their 2,600-calorie daily diet comes in the form of donuts -- donuts the terrorists enjoy while being interrogated by sensitive, nurturing, modestly-clad female interrogators.

On my trip last week to Gitmo, I was personally able to observe Joint Task Force specialists conducting interrogations. The detainee wore an orange jump suit -- the mark of detainees who refuse to do what guards direct them to do -- and was described by JTF officers as "extremely noncompliant." I was surprised to see one detainee, described as "a high level al-Qaeda organizational and financial expert," relaxed during his interrogation session, happily munching from a box of donuts which had been provided by his interrogator. The 30-something woman had an interpreter present during the interrogation, because, although the interrogator speaks Arabic, she says she is more comfortable having "another set of ears" present at each session.

As I mentioned in yesterday's column, many of the most dangerous inmates regularly attack the guards, pelting them with feces, urine, semen, and spittle, not to mention the constant threats they make against the guards' families. Even this terrorist, casually munching on donut after donut, says he would happily kill every American he could get his hands on: military or civilian; man, woman or child. The woman in charge of behavioral analysis at Gitmo -- a dedicated Ph.D. who has two years of experience with these people and has just extended her stay -- added, "This man is proud of what the did, the people he killed, the targets he attacked, the plans he made, and the money he raised for al-Qaeda. He met with Osama bin Laden frequently. He tells us these things as a proud jihadist fighter."

I asked why he had not tried to lay a hand on his interrogator, who is much physically weaker than he is. "He knows the drill," replied JTF Commander BG Jay Hood. "He is restrained by leg cuffs and can't reach the interrogators. If he tried -- and some have -- then he would be denied privileges." Like Krispy Kremes. He eagerly eats the donuts that the interrogator provides at each session, General Hood added, "so that he can throw his food tray at the guards who deliver it to his cell." He attacks guards and his punishment is to be supplied with breakfast pastries: sounds like torture to me.

After learning of the treats given to detainee terrorists, we were surprised to find the modus operandi of the female interrogators was much different than the media and the Left had led us to believe: The women act as caring nurturers, gently lulling the captives into disclosing vital information. "Why did Gitmo employ a female interrogator in the first place?" we asked. We were told that these thugs were especially sensitive about having Western women around them. "We are very effective with some of the detainees," another female interrogator told me. She looks to be in her forties, slight build, light hair. "I dress modestly when I work with the detainees," she said. "Long sleeves and an ankle-length skirt. I act as a mother or perhaps a sister to these men. In their culture those role models are acceptable. Indeed, it provides a comfort level for them to discuss their activities with a motherly/sisterly figure. We don't coerce; we don't pressure. We just talk. And listen very carefully."

"Most importantly," she continued, "we are breaking stereotypes. These men expected to find something quite different. Many are very well educated, in America and Europe, and have much exposure to Western culture. But their ideology has implanted a harsh, critical stereotype of what Western women are like. When we act differently - more in keeping with women's behavior in their family circles - then we connect with their culture and they open up to us."

Gitmo interrogators focus on "building rapport" with the detainees, getting to know them, gaining their trust. They "break down stereotypes" and engage in dialogue. General Hood affirms that "the techniques work." Not all conversation with the detainees is about military or terrorist actions. They chat, talk about family, background, world affairs. One woman bakes cookies for her sessions.

What, after all these years of confinement, do the Gitmo interrogators elicit from these people? One would expect that any important information they possess has long been overtaken by events or grown stale, that these people had been milked of all actionable intelligence months ago and were simply hanging around waiting for ultimate disposition by military tribunal.

Moreover, interrogating these terrorists is a challenge. They are from several countries, speak 17 languages, and are from a variety of professional, educational, and social backgrounds. They are not riff-raff scraped off the battlefield; some have advanced degrees in law, medicine, and engineering from schools like the University of London or Louisiana State University. Quite a few are demolitions experts. Many detainees have been extensively trained in counter-interrogation techniques. Some have learned their trade, in some cases first- or second-hand from former KGB and Eastern European intelligence operatives. They know how to build a cover story, construct a cover within a cover, and hold silence under duress.

They are, instead, critical informants in the War on Terror.

JTF interrogators disclosed that they are continuing to develop a large amount of important intelligence from these detainees, even years after capture, and the information gained is growing daily. Integrating this intelligence with Homeland Security agencies and with military reports from battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq is helping penetrate the detainee cover stories and break down defenses. One detainee provided personal information on a current Afghan tribal leader that helped Afghanistan forces control a turbulent region. Other detainees gave up operational attack plans that they formulated that had not yet been implemented. Police authorities in Europe and America follow up these leads and continue to break up hidden terrorist sleeper cells.

Another man was silent for almost three years. He successfully maintained a false identity until a captured terrorist half a world away picked him from a photo and gave his name. Once he was confronted with the truth he began to talk. From him we are learning about al-Qaeda's web of financial sources, how funds are moved, and how money laundering takes place. His information enables specialists to dry up money sources that had been, up-to-that-moment, aiding their terrorist jihad.

There are many reasons to hold these very dangerous terrorists, including the wealth of vital information that we continue to elicit. To make this happen, they need to be confined in a special facility secluded from everyone else where they can be controlled effectively and interrogated properly. Guantanamo Bay fits the requirements in ways no other facility would. This base is keeping highly dangerous terrorists from killing more innocent Americans. It is not a gulag or torture camp.

The allegations, however, trickle down to the individual soldiers and sailors (the Navy is carrying a lot of the Gitmo guard responsibility). I asked one young woman about her feelings toward negative, erroneous accusations from the media and from Senators like Durbin and Kennedy. "We hear all that, of course," she answered, "but we try not to let it get us down." Then she grinned. "In fact, every time we see one of those stories, it just makes us want to work harder to accomplish our mission." Her name tag is blacked out, as are those of the other soldiers, because of personal threats from the detainees, so I won't give it here. But know that we owe these gallant service men and women a deep debt of gratitude for carrying out this vital but viciously slandered mission, all the while bearing up with great professionalism.

These are the professionals who bear the brunt of the overheated and irresponsible charges of the Left -- but if the Left manages to get the government to shut Gitmo down, they won't be its only victims.

Update: Scott at Power Line has posted a letter from Susan Albright, editorial page editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, that attempts to defend her paper's editorial defending Dick Durban's indefensible remarks on Gitmo. The letter, as Scott says, makes no attempt to establish the veracity of Durban's charges, but instead proceeds as if they were true. Then again, anyone who would come to the defense of Dick Durban is unlikely to be accused of clear thinking.

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