After watching “The Road to Guantanamo” on Channel 4 today I have been thinking of the bare-faced cheek of the US to justify and continue this torture while the rest of the world sits back helpless. :mad:
For those of you who don’t live in the UK or didn’t watch the film, it told of the ordeal of the three British detainees who spent 2 years in Cuba and were released in 2004. It was extremely disturbing viewing, men were beatan black and blue for offering salaat, the Quran kicked around, and a mentally disabled man kicked till he threw up blood.
What infuriates me is that if the men being held there are SO dangerous and SO bad, then why not put them on trial, imprison the guilty, free the innocent and close down the horrible place?
I watched the documentary and it left a very bitter taste in the mouth. Shame on those who are always preaching about human rights when their own behaviour was worse than animals.
Despite all the torture, abuse and treating the detainees like animals, they failed to break anyone one of them or get a concocted confession.
In one scene the American female interrogator showed one of the detainees a film where Osama is addressing his followers and the film shows the detainee sitting in the crowd. She asked him whether it was him. The detainee pointed to the date on the film and told her that at that time he was working for the Tesco supermarket in UK. She was caught off guard and than quickly said but it is you isn't it and the guy said I just told you I was working in UK at the time. The planted pictures ploy failed.
It was an excellent documentary :k: Some of the papers this morning gave it a 5 star rating because of how it touches the viewers and brings to light the sheer torture and attack on the senses these men went and others continue to go through today. The realism was immense. After a while the prisoners were accustomed to the torture and interogation that they started swearing back at the interviewers. It was also well balanced showing how some american guards were friendly with the prisoners and tried taking care of them at times.
Apparently you can download it on the Ch4 website. I recommend everyone to watch it.
antiobl - one of the three men detained had gone to Pakistan to get married, the other two were friends of his who went to participate in his wedding. Hearing of the imminent war in Afghanistan, the trio, out of curiosity crossed the border. During their time there they were captured by an Afghan warlord and put into US custody.
I think more such films have to be made, more books written and the whole concept of Guantanamo Bay questioned until the US govt closes the place down.
Wrong place at the wrong time? Are they such dumasses that they got so curious and crossed to border to watch fireworks from US military? You sure they didnt want to join in the Jihad? Im trying to understand their motive cos this curiosity bit is bothering me.
to hell with those americans who r the most uncivilized people on the world along wit those muslims who support them....westernization is a ****ing venemous thing....
americans have surely done much more then this but due to their strict policies,many things have been hidden
Are you familiar with customs here in Pakistan? The couple getting married is busy with celebrations such as Mehndi, Barat, and Walima. Family members dance and celebrate until late hours of the night. Loud music (too loud for the neighborhood) goes on until Fajar in the morning.
At least the groom is more worried about looking good instead of carrying AK47.
Groom’s friends (best-men or sarbalas) are more interested in checking out girls instead of sharing beds with Talibans.
And you are convinced that the reasons of them being in Afghanistan were mere “curiosity”?
Well if they WERE going there to train or participate in fighting then I'm sure the US wouldn't have released them. I have to admit I had my reservations on the trio and their so-called "curiosity" but upon watching the film and their interviews you find them to be extremely normal young boys. The fundamentalist image we get of a very religious and politically aware individual was nowhere to be found in the three youths and it is only since returning from Cuba that they have all become practising Muslims.
Before any of you pass judgement, I suggest you check out the film for yourselves
At least the groom is more worried about looking good instead of carrying AK47.
Groom's friends (best-men or sarbalas) are more interested in checking out girls instead of sharing beds with Talibans.
And you are convinced that the reasons of them being in Afghanistan were mere "curiosity"?
Strange!!!
If they were terrorists or were fighting a jihad in afghanistan why were they not charged and taken to court. Why was the film shown to these guys where they were supposedley attending a gathering to listen to osama not produced in court.
The only thing I find strange in this whole process is why the USA wont bring all the detainees to trial and end what has become the modern equivelent of Nazi concentration camps
Sure I’ll watch it as soon as it shows up at the local video outlet.
There are different types of Jihadis caught during the “war on terrorism”.
Some are low level Talibanic Gitmos, AK47 carrying types. These are not too big of a threat (at least not for now). While others may be the hard core AQ Gitmo type.
US will release Talibanic Gitmos but never the AQ group.
However Naik Muhammad of Wazirastan showed that Talibanic types are quiet dangerous as well, especially for the local peace.
Pakistani authorities treated the Talibanic Gitmos with kid gloves at first. They now seem to be moving away from this “catch and release” policy once they saw the level of “indoctrination” and the resulting bloodshed,
I truly hope they were caught in Afghanistan after going there for simple curiosity.
London bombers didn’t give any “fundamentalist image we get…” either. And look how much damage those weirdos did to the Pak community of UK.
However I highly suggest not sending them back to Pakistan for another go at the wedding. Who knows what kind of “curiosity” they may get excited about!
The guys looked normal but were rather naive as well. Their intent was not to go to Afghanistan in the first place when they left their lil pind in UK, but something happened at the Binori mosque in Karachi where the imam was preaching that “people should go an help people of Afghanistan”. How did these teeangers plan to help the people of afghanistan? They seemed to be rather drooling over the idea of eating “big fooking massive naans” of Afghanistan.
It was after their experience at the mosque and witnessing people protesting over the impending US invasion/bombing that they decided to go to Afghanistan for some “adventure”. Doesnt make sense at all to me. Werent they following what was happening in the world back in Oct 2001?
Forgot to add this bit from the director, Michael Winterbottom, himeself. When asked he said:
Why did they go into Afghanistan in the first place?
As they explain in the film, they went to a Mosque in Pakistan where the Imam was saying they should try and help the people of Afghanistan in any way they could, and the Mosque was organising for people to go and work in Afghanistan. So the very next day they got on a coach and off they went. What were their motives beyond that? When they describe what happened to them, even including being captured by the Northern Alliance, being put in containers, being taken to Guantánamo and the treatment they had there, when they describe all of that, it’s similar to hearing people describing their year out. In some ways it was an adventure. I think maybe that was part of their motivation in the first place - they thought it would be interesting to see Afghanistan. But I think if you’re talking about people’s motives, it’s very difficult. If you ask me why did I make this film, I’d probably give you one answer now, a different answer the next time, and a different one the time after that. It’s very hard to pin down your motives to one thing. But what they say in the film is that they were interested to see Afghanistan, and wanted to help the people there.