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Silence hampers information gathering at Guantanamo
( 2002-04-11 09:07 ) (7 )

Nearly three months have passed since the first detainees from the war in Afghanistan arrived at the Camp X-Ray detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and officials there say getting useful information has been - and will continue to be - a slow process.

Silence and lies are among the obstacles US officials say they have faced while interrogating al Qaeda and Taliban soldiers who have arrived at Guantanamo Bay since Jan. 11. They have had trouble identifying the detainees because some of them have refused to talk. When they have spoken, officials say they have had trouble sorting truth from fiction because the detainees were trained to give information designed to mislead their interrogators.

"The basic problem is that these people are trained not to tell the truth," said Lt. Col. Dennis Fink, a public information officer for Joint Task Force 170, which handles the intelligence gathering at Camp X-Ray. "Just like if a US soldier was captured, we would not be forthright with information. These guys lie about all sorts of things - they lie from A-to-Z. But the problems are no different than what anyone experienced in law enforcement deals with."

Terror Alerts and Preventing Future Attacks

Officials refuse to say what kind of information they have obtained from detainees or what tactics they use in their attempts to get information. US officials have insisted torture tactics are not used while interrogating detainees. And they refuse to say whether the intelligence has been useful to law enforcement officials.

However, officials have used some of the information they have gathered to perhaps prevent future attacks and put law enforcement officials on alert for future attacks. On Feb. 12, the FBI issued a terror alert based on information gathered from the detainees and from military operations in Afghanistan.

FBI officials warned law enforcement officials in the United States and abroad that terrorist groups might have been planning an attack against the United States or US interests that day. They urged law enforcement to be on the lookout for Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national, and 16 associates allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden.

No attacks occurred on Feb. 12, and law enforcement officials have not reported any progress in tracking down al-Rabeei and most of his associates, although they learned that six of the men on the list were already in custody. Still, officials at Guantanamo Bay take a small victory in that law enforcement is now looking for al-Rabeei.

The information-gathering process, however, is not expected to be easy and swift. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has admitted in recent days that it is not easy to verify the information gathered and the identities of the detainees because the intelligence gathered in other countries is not always reliable.

"It's something that's just going to take a little time," said Lt. Col. Fink. "Sometimes, there's no telling what the truth is, and it's been a slow process. But it's a normal problem for anybody conducting interrogations."

Well-Fed and Receiving Medical Treatment

Since January, 300 al Qaeda and Taliban detainees have arrived at Guantanamo Bay. (Currently the number at Camp X-Ray stands at 299 because Yasser Esam Hamdi, the second-American born Taliban fighter, was transported back to the United States last week.) Since their arrival, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Red Cross have been concerned that al Qaeda and Taliban soldiers would be abused and tortured, but Camp X-Ray officials insist they have been treated well.

Officials from Joint Task Force 160, which handles the medical care and day-to-day detention issues, say that despite various hunger strikes, the detainees have gained on average 10 pounds since their arrival at Camp X-Ray. Detainees who arrived at the facility with bullet wounds and various other conditions have had their maladies treated and are in better health than had they remained in Afghanistan, officials said.

"They eat well, the medical staff has been incredibly responsive to all their needs," said Maj. James Bell, public affairs officer for the Joint Task Force 160. "We have two detainees who have been hospitalized for refusing to eat and we've monitored their condition and started involuntary feeding."

Approximately a third of the detainee population went on a hunger strike in late February and March when after one of them was forced to take off a makeshift turban he had fashioned out of a bedsheet. Officials said at the time that the detainee - who was observing his Muslim prayers - ignored a guard and a translator when asked to remove the turban.

Closely Watching Detainees

Bell said the detainees are being allowed to wear turbans and have meal plans that are respectful of their religious customs. If they have complaints or concerns, they are allowed to meet with Red Cross officials and then Camp X-Ray officials determine how to address the problem. Detainees live in eight-foot-by-eight foot cells separated by chain-link fences. Upon arrival, each detainee receives a copy of the Koran, a one-quart canteen, two towels, a sleeping mat and two blankets, among other items.

Each detainee, Bell said, is allowed to read books and exercise and "stretch their legs" in a recreation yard twice a week for 15 minutes at a time. No more than two prisoners are allowed in the recreation yard at a time. Still, guards closely monitor them because of security concerns. They do not want detainees to have an opportunity to confer with each other and perhaps plot uprisings in the detention facility.

"We allow certain privileges, but we have to closely watch the detainees," said Bell. "We don't want to do anything that gives them any opportunity to conceal devices."

No Timetable for Detention

US officials have not set a specific timetable for how long the detainees will remain in Guantanamo Bay. Rumsfeld has said the United States has no interest in holding the detainees indefinitely, but officials do not want to set free alleged terrorists to plot more attacks either.

If some of the detainees do go before military tribunals, the Pentagon has set up guidelines that officials say will protect the rights of the accused terrorists while protecting the security of Americans. No one has been chosen to go before a tribunal and Rumsfeld said they would be rarely used, if at all, and only if the suspect's home country does not take over prosecution.

Officials plan to move the detainees to a more permanent facility, Camp Delta - also at Guantanamo Bay - which is currently under construction and would hold 408 detainees. Officials are also building an attachment to Camp Delta that would hold 204 detainees.

Two Injured in Helicopter Crash

In other developments:

** Two US soldiers were injured when an Army Apache helicopter crashed near Kandahar, according to a statement from US Central Command in Tampa, Fla. There was no explanation of what caused the helicopter to make a "hard landing," but the statement said there was no indication hostile fire was involved. The crew members' injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, according to the statement.

** Nine suspects are under arrest in connection with a pair of attacks over the last few days that threaten the fragile peace in Afghanistan. Five people were arrested in an eastern Kabul neighborhood in connection with a missile attack Sunday on a peacekeeper garrison, an Interior Ministry official said. In the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, four suspects were arrested in a bomb blast Monday that targeted Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim, a senior Defense Ministry official said.

** A pro-US Afghan soldier was killed and five others were injured Tuesday when the truck they were traveling in hit what military officials said was a recently planted landmine near the coalition base at Kandahar, as scattered violence continued to threaten Afghanistan's fragile peace. Two men carried out a grenade attack on a group of pro-US Afghan fighters earlier this week, killing one, and five people were killed in an apparent assassination attempt on the interim defense minister.

** The U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan asked international donors to provide funding for an army and a police force. Special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said establishing a well-trained national security force "is an absolute priority right now. It is the only way to bring about the security for which the people of Afghanistan yearn and which is indispensable if this country is to be reconstructed." In the first day of a meeting of international donors to Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai told the attendees they have not been doing enough to help his country. He said if more assistance is not provided for such things as road-building, the country could soon slide back into chaos.