Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Admist controversy, the
United States began detaining the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
prisoners they had captured in Afghanistan at the
Guantanamo Bay base in eastern Cuba. International
observers decried the U.S. decision to house the
"detainees" in outdoor cages and, more importantly, to
deny them POW status under the Geneva Conventions.
Though the U.S. line has softened a bit (actual
Taliban soldiers will now be given POW status) on most
of the issues U.S. military hasn't budged.
Camp X-ray, as the prison camp is called, is a grim
place. It's surrounded on all sides by layers of
fencing and razor wire, and squat wooden guard towers
are always manned by watchful snipers. Detainees are
moved around the camp in shackles, escorted by at
least two soldiers. But the prisoners have access to
Qurans, a Muslim cleric, medical care, and are fed
three meals of culturally appropriate food a day.
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A guard looks over the camp from one several
of its guard towers. |
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