3 posts tagged “protection”

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Guantanamo Complies With Geneva Conventions, Admiral Says

Feb 24, 2009
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By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2009 – The detention facilities at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, meet all standards of humane treatment and are in compliance with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the vice chief of naval operations said today.

Navy Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, vice chief of naval operations, briefs Pentagon reporters on Feb. 23, 2009, about his findings concerning the compliance of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with the stipulations contained in the Geneva Conventions. DoD photo by R.D. Ward
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Navy Adm. Patrick M. Walsh was chosen by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to head a team to review and report on the facilities at Guantanamo as part of an executive order President Barack Obama issued Jan. 22.

The review team conducted more than 100 interviews with Joint Task Force Guantanamo personnel over 13 days of investigation in Cuba . The team conducted multiple announced and unannounced inspections of all camps, reviewed paperwork and observed many aspects of daily operations, Walsh said.

“Collectively, we talked to a number of detainees and observed daily activities, including [use of feeding tubes] and interrogations,” Walsh said during a Pentagon news conference.

The team looked at shelter, clothing, food and water, practice of religion, recreation, the detainee discipline system, protections against violence, sensory deprivation and humiliation, human-to-human contact, health care, interrogation and access to attorneys and outside entities. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention prohibits violence to life and person, taking of hostages, outrages upon personal dignity and passing of sentences without judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court.

“From our review, it was apparent that the chain of command responsible for the detention mission at Guantanamo consistently seeks to go beyond the minimum standard in complying with Common Article 3,” he said. “We found that the chain of command endeavors to enhance conditions in a manner as humane as possible, consistent with security concerns.”

The team also recommended ways to improve conditions at the detention facilities. While Obama wants the facility closed by next year, until it does close, conditions must meet all humane standards, Walsh said.

“We do not intend to suggest that these recommendations are items that the department must pursue to satisfy Common Article 3,” he said. “Rather, they are items that we view as consistent with the approach of the chain of command to continually enhance conditions of detention.”

Socialization, or interaction among detainees, is important for the detainees because of the length of time they have been detained, he said. In certain camps, more socialization is needed. The team called for more “human-to-human contact, recreation opportunities with several detainees together, intellectual stimulation and group prayer,” the admiral said.

The review team recommended better health care, and the task force leaders appreciate the role health care plays at the facility, Walsh said.

Finally, as long as the facility remains open, it must have the requisite resources, the admiral told reporters.

“The most significant activity in this regard involves the continued support for camp improvement projects currently under way that affect the ability to provide socialization opportunities,” he said. “Of significant concern is that the department continued to properly resource Guantanamo until every detainee departs.”

Biographies:
Navy Adm. Patrick M. Walsh

Related Sites:
Joint Task Force Guantanamo

This Iraqi boy knows who he can trust for protection against insurgents

May 9, 2008
29 comments

I originally posted this in Sept 2007. I just updated the date

so we could see and appreciate this truth again.

This boy knows who will not kill him

and who will save him

Look at the US Soldier standing upright and

alert while everyone else runs!

Picture2 iraq boy

A picture of the scene after a bombing in

Baghdad yesterday adding to the choas of the

bombing which killed at least 21 people

and injured at least 66, was a shooter,

maybe targeting people in the crowd.

Admid all the Iraqi's who are running from the

gunfire was a U.S. Soldier standing tall perhaps

looking in the direction of the gunshots,

not apparently looking for cover.

Picture1 Iraq boy

3 comments

An Iraqi boy seeks shelter behind the Soldier,

a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.

The first picture shows it all. The kids face

shows he is scared to death, and he's running

to the safest spot he can find:

This Soldier who stands between him and danger.

It would be difficult to stage a picture

that provides a more potent metaphor for the

role played by the United states

in this wretched world.

This Kid Just Did a Perfect Essay on

"What America Means

To Me"

SURE DIDN'T SEE THIS

ON CNN,

NBC, ABC or CBS...

NOW DID YOU?

I Am Proud To Be An American

Nov 17, 2007
1 comment

..Dazz Approved..

Thanks Michael P.Murphy Memorial

I am determined to face my limitations,
And to prove I will stand up for my beliefs.
I can make a difference.

I am determined to face the future,
And to earn the freedoms I've been given.

I am ready to become part of a great American tradition,
And to contribute all I can
Without being asked, more than my share.

I am ready to contribute the good I have inside me,
My will power,
And to succeed for the good of my country,
For my family's future,
Against all odds;
At any test,
Now.

I believe that the world needs more heroes,
And that anything worth having
Is worth protecting.

And I believe in my country,
Future, will to succeed,
I believe in myself.

I am stronger than my fears,
I am stronger than any obstacle,
I am stronger than ever before;
I am stronger than I know.

And I am stronger when I strive for a greater purpose,
I'm pushing my limits,
I put others first.

And I am stronger because my country needs me.
Because of the people around me.
Because I believe in myself.

I am proud to know where I come from,
And to be unstoppable.
To know how hard I've worked,
And to stand up for my country.

To know I can accomplish anything,
And to be committed to what I believe.
I am proud to know I can make a difference,
And to stand up for my family.

To stand strong in any storm,
To stand for those who cannot.
Ready for anything,
I am proud to know how far I've come.

I am proud to be American.