Friday, March 29, 2013

Complete jurisdiction and control

"The United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control" over Guantanamo
Does this mean that the US can do anything it wants? Ignore the Bill of Rights? Violate international law? Violate the lease whose terms it stands on? I don't think so.

Plus, there are crimes with universal jurisdiction.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Mistakes

The US claims to occupy the Naval Base subject to a valid lease. That's a big one, for surely even the Americans can see that a lease grants the use of a property only for certain things, all of which must be legal, and the landlord can evict you if you violate the terms.

Are the relations between Cuba and the US the same as set out in Treaty of Relations of 1903? Is the US is still best friends with Cuba, or if it's not, was Cuba wrong for getting rid of Batista and the mob?

Is America right to say that the Bill of Rights contains inalienable rights, given by God, to Americans and to no one else?

Are people right to think that knowing the truth will lead to justice?

Monday, March 18, 2013

From Day 1


On December 12, 1903, control of Guantanamo Bay was handed over to the United States, on the Kearsarge. At noon, the Cuban flag was lowered. So much for the recognition of ultimate Cuban sovereignty.

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Guantanamo lease

Would the Government of Cuba be willing to consider leasing Guantanamo Bay to the US for a Naval Station? This may seem like a foolish question, but since the current lease is invalid, and the US cannot be ejected by force, a possible solution might be to negotiate a valid lease, to at least put the occupation on a marginally agreeable and legal foundation.

The advantages seem to be many, but most especially, if this territorial dispute can be settled in this way (and may I suggest that the UN be the bargaining representative for the nation of Cuba), possibly the Palestine question could be resolved using a similar mechanism. This would indeed be a wonderful contribution to world peace in which Cuba could lead the way.

Monday, March 04, 2013

Guantanamo Bay Naval Station

Then

map

Now

camp 6

One got away

Via No More Guantanamos, Nancy Talanian, Dir
One of the Uyghurs, who was released to Palau, left for Turkey to be with his wife. Who knew.

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Unlawful Combatants, that is, pirate

If a soldier kills a civilian, or two, it is lawful combat.
If a civilian kills a soldier, it is unlawful combat.
This is called asymmetric warfare.
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Bush said he would not distinguish between Al Qaida and those who harbored Al Qaida. The Taliban, who governed Afghanistan, harbored al Qaida. So we declared war on Afghanistan. (Didn't we?)
Taliban prisoners are prisoners of war. If we make no distinction, Al Qaida prisoners are prisoners of war as well.
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During the revolutionary war, most of the naval forces were privateers. This afforded POW status if captured.
Were the Blackwater contractors lawful or unlawful enemy combatants from the point of view of the people of Falluja?

Take No Prisoners attitude

In ten years of war, how can it be that we have taken no prisoners? Is not each person taken by the military a prisoner of war, or assumed to be a prisoner of war unless he loses that status through some process in accord with our system of laws? Or is the military above the law and outside the law?

Is the Guantanamo Naval Base abandoned

The lease limits the US to military use of the Bay. Since there are no coal fueled ships remaining in the US Navy, the US has ceased to used the Bay as a coaling station. There are no carriers home ported to Guantanamo Bay. USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) was associated with Guantanamo Bay. It was a Casablanca class escort carrier, sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

What is a Navy?

A navy is not simply a collection of ships or fighting vessels. It is a process of activities ranging from securing those vessels, raising crews, provisions, arms, munitions, finding ways to resupply those vessels, finding ways to pay all those people, commissioning officers, establishing rules, codes of conduct, and deciding on a naval strategy.
Glenn Grasson, on Cspan3 @2:30, quoting Christopher Magra in The Fisherman's Cause

Saturday, March 02, 2013

I will take anyone anywhere anytime

MP Colonel Michael Bumgarner, of his pride in Guantanamo.
Look inside, searching for "anyone anywhere", and scroll down.

Where shall we put all the POWs


Not Hawaii, Guam, Diego Garcia?
Not Pul-e-Charkhi Prison? The Russians had prisons you know.
After the First Gulf War, where POWs were a problem,
no POW Camp was "ready" for the second Gulf War
according to Inside Gitmo, p16. $0.01+shipping, Amazon.
Did they check the 1903 lease agreement to see if building a POW camp was allowed in Cuba?
No. No, they didn't.

Naval and Coaling Station

Naval Station: A harbor that is home to a fleet.
Coaling Station: A harbor where ships can take on coal for fuel.
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No other enterprises are allowed under the lease.

Friday, March 01, 2013

Naval Station, only


and no other.
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A POW camp is not a Naval Station, and constructing a POW camp at Guantanamo is not necessary to fit Guantanamo Bay for use as a naval station. It may be that not all prisoners in a POW camp are classified as prisoners of war, however it is clear that the camp is a POW camp; these people are being detained without charge until the war is over, to keep them from the war.
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Guantanamo was picked for the POW camp by the Department of Justice, not the Department of the Navy.
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Guantanamo already had a brig.