The Whole Truth and Nothing But...

Since Watergate, the press has put itself in opposition to whatever the current administration says, to balance things out. But what if what the administration says never sees the light of day?

Detainees “provide useful information on locations of training compounds and safe houses, terrain features, travel patterns and routes used for smuggling people and equipment, as well as for identifying potential supporters and opponents.” U.S. questioning has “expanded our understanding of the extent of their presence in Europe [and] the United States…”

“Detainees provide information that helps sort out legitimate financial activity from illegitimate terrorist financing operations,” the report says.

One detainee “identified a complex detonation system…that had been used in the Chechen conflict, and now is being used on IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices] in Iraq, helping U.S. forces to combat this lethal weapon.”

Despite this apparent cooperation, enemy combatants remain viciously anti-American and dedicated to mayhem, even after release.

“I will arrange for the kidnapping and execution of US citizens living in Saudi Arabia,” one detainee threatened, if freed. “They will have their heads cut off.”

“There is no need to ask for forgiveness for killing a Jew,” another said. “Israel should not exist and be removed from Palestine.”

One detainee reportedly warned that “upon his release from GTMO, he would use the Internet to search for the names and faces of MPs so that he could kill them.”

Among 167 detainees freed from Guantanamo, the Pentagon has identified “about 12” who have resumed terrorist operations. Last October, two Chinese engineers were kidnapped in Pakistan. “Former detainee Abdullah Mahsud, their reputed leader, ordered the kidnapping,” the report states.

“Another released detainee assassinated an Afghan judge,” the document continues. “Several former GTMO detainees have been killed in combat with U.S. soldiers and Coalition forces.”

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Well, that's the administration's story, that this Guantanamo mess has saved many innocent lives. But I for one never heard it until now. Have you?

Nah, I didn't think so. We get the truth, but it's half the truth, which is worse than no truth at all.


Some can't live with moral dilemmas, but we must. The moral dilemma is the probability of depriving an innocent of his freedom vs. the probability of the rest of these maniacs taking innocent human life. You make your best 51-49 call and live with being a moral leper with the other who are down with the 49.

So me, I make my call based on detentions being temporary and death being permanent. I have to live with that, and so does Bush. Anyone who wants to release these guys to preserve the principle of due process has to live with the deaths of who these guys kill. There is no escape from moral dilemmas. That's how this funky world works.