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Murder at Camp Delta: A Staff Sergeant's Pursuit of the Truth About Guantanamo Bay
The revelatory eyewitness account about Guantánamo Bay—detainees murdered, a secret CIA facility for torture, and the US government cover up—by the Staff Sergeant who felt honor-bound to uncover it.
Staff Sergeant Joe Hickman was a loyal member of the armed forces and a proud American patriot. For twenty years, he worked as a prison guard, a private investigator, and in the military, earning more than twenty commendations and awards. When he re-enlisted after 9/11, he served as a team leader and Sergeant of the Guard in Guantánamo Naval Base. From the moment he arrived at Camp Delta, something was amiss. The prisons were chaotic, detainees were abused, and Hickman uncovered by accident a secret facility he labeled “Camp No.” On June 9, 2006, the night Hickman was on duty, three prisoners died, supposed suicides, and Hickman knew something was seriously wrong. So began his epic search for the truth, an odyssey that would lead him to conclude that the US government was using Guantánamo not just as a prison, but as a training ground for interrogators to test advanced torture techniques.
For the first time, Hickman details the inner workings of Camp Delta: the events surrounding the death of three prisoners, the orchestrated the cover-up, and the secret facility at the heart of it all. From his own eyewitness account, and a careful review of thousands of documents, he deconstructs the government’s account of what happened and proves that the military not only tortured prisoners, but lied about their deaths. By revealing Guantánamo’s true nature, Sergeant Hickman shows us why the prison has been so difficult to close. This book opens an important window onto government overreach, secrecy, and one man’s principled search for the truth. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Mur...
Staff Sergeant Joe Hickman was a loyal member of the armed forces and a proud American patriot. For twenty years, he worked as a prison guard, a private investigator, and in the military, earning more than twenty commendations and awards. When he re-enlisted after 9/11, he served as a team leader and Sergeant of the Guard in Guantánamo Naval Base. From the moment he arrived at Camp Delta, something was amiss. The prisons were chaotic, detainees were abused, and Hickman uncovered by accident a secret facility he labeled “Camp No.” On June 9, 2006, the night Hickman was on duty, three prisoners died, supposed suicides, and Hickman knew something was seriously wrong. So began his epic search for the truth, an odyssey that would lead him to conclude that the US government was using Guantánamo not just as a prison, but as a training ground for interrogators to test advanced torture techniques.
For the first time, Hickman details the inner workings of Camp Delta: the events surrounding the death of three prisoners, the orchestrated the cover-up, and the secret facility at the heart of it all. From his own eyewitness account, and a careful review of thousands of documents, he deconstructs the government’s account of what happened and proves that the military not only tortured prisoners, but lied about their deaths. By revealing Guantánamo’s true nature, Sergeant Hickman shows us why the prison has been so difficult to close. This book opens an important window onto government overreach, secrecy, and one man’s principled search for the truth. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Mur...
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 2, 2023
Ex-Marine Joseph Hickman was assigned to the Maryland National Guard, 629th Military Intelligence Battalion, and told to prepare for a year-long deployment at Guantánamo Bay prison. What follows is a version of his time there. I have no other information to say how true or how much of this account is fiction. Basically, I can only go with what the author has written.
The issue with what happens in Gitmo (opened in early 2002) is how it goes against the Geneva Convention due to the way detainees are handled. If the detainee has broken the law, they should be tried in the normal manner. We want terrorists put away so they cannot harm people, but due process must be followed. If they are found guilty then lock them up as per normal. It is no secret that some of these detainees were not put on trial and were interrogated for information in a manner that was not, shall we say, strictly within the bounds of legality. We do not want terrorists striking our country, so we do need to gather information to find out about these cells and what they plan to do but once more you follow the legal process that is in-place.
Hickman spent a year there starting on the 10-Mar-2006. What he looks at is the death of three detainees that June. Did they kill themselves or were they killed accidentally? The government claim that they took their own lives. Hickman is certain that events do not add up. He did not see what actually happened although he was on duty. The second half of the book is how he, the lawyers and the law students poured over redacted and jumbled reports to try and find the truth.
This book will certainly divide opinion. I am not sure it is going to change many people’s opinion of Gitmo and the way it is run. Some are for some are against. Will it change the attitude of the US government towards Gitmo? Maybe it did. Obama wanted to close it. He managed to bring the number of prisoners down but it is still open with about 30 detainees (data from Apr-2023).
The issue with what happens in Gitmo (opened in early 2002) is how it goes against the Geneva Convention due to the way detainees are handled. If the detainee has broken the law, they should be tried in the normal manner. We want terrorists put away so they cannot harm people, but due process must be followed. If they are found guilty then lock them up as per normal. It is no secret that some of these detainees were not put on trial and were interrogated for information in a manner that was not, shall we say, strictly within the bounds of legality. We do not want terrorists striking our country, so we do need to gather information to find out about these cells and what they plan to do but once more you follow the legal process that is in-place.
Hickman spent a year there starting on the 10-Mar-2006. What he looks at is the death of three detainees that June. Did they kill themselves or were they killed accidentally? The government claim that they took their own lives. Hickman is certain that events do not add up. He did not see what actually happened although he was on duty. The second half of the book is how he, the lawyers and the law students poured over redacted and jumbled reports to try and find the truth.
This book will certainly divide opinion. I am not sure it is going to change many people’s opinion of Gitmo and the way it is run. Some are for some are against. Will it change the attitude of the US government towards Gitmo? Maybe it did. Obama wanted to close it. He managed to bring the number of prisoners down but it is still open with about 30 detainees (data from Apr-2023).
November 6, 2014
“Murder at Camp Delta” by Joseph Hickman, published by Simon and Schuster.
Category – Politics and Government Publication Date – February 03, 2015
It was not an easy decision for Joseph Hickman to become a whistle blower, in fact, it took several years for him to come forward about the abuses that occurred at Guantanamo Bay. The reader must remember that Hickman was a devoted member of the Armed Forces and a true believer in the American Way. This is why it was so difficult for him to expose the abuse, torture, and death occurring at Gitmo.
Hickman was assigned to guard duty and immediately found things that were very disturbing. It was only after he accidentally discovered the presence of “Camp No” that he knew that things were not being run properly. All of this came to a head one night when he was on guard duty and three prisoners died. Hickman started looking into what he saw that night and what was being told to the media, it all just didn’t add up. This continued to bother him but he knew he could do nothing while he was in uniform. It became such a problem for him that he resigned from the service and began a hunt for the truth. It took several years with the help of a teaching lawyer and his students to produce enough proof to show that Gitmo was not only a prison but a training ground for interrogators. It was during one of these exercises that these deaths occurred and the subsequent cover-up.
I must admit I was skeptical in the beginning but found that the more I kept reading the more I realized that what was occurring was not only against American principles, the Geneva Convention, and more importantly the common decency of man.
Category – Politics and Government Publication Date – February 03, 2015
It was not an easy decision for Joseph Hickman to become a whistle blower, in fact, it took several years for him to come forward about the abuses that occurred at Guantanamo Bay. The reader must remember that Hickman was a devoted member of the Armed Forces and a true believer in the American Way. This is why it was so difficult for him to expose the abuse, torture, and death occurring at Gitmo.
Hickman was assigned to guard duty and immediately found things that were very disturbing. It was only after he accidentally discovered the presence of “Camp No” that he knew that things were not being run properly. All of this came to a head one night when he was on guard duty and three prisoners died. Hickman started looking into what he saw that night and what was being told to the media, it all just didn’t add up. This continued to bother him but he knew he could do nothing while he was in uniform. It became such a problem for him that he resigned from the service and began a hunt for the truth. It took several years with the help of a teaching lawyer and his students to produce enough proof to show that Gitmo was not only a prison but a training ground for interrogators. It was during one of these exercises that these deaths occurred and the subsequent cover-up.
I must admit I was skeptical in the beginning but found that the more I kept reading the more I realized that what was occurring was not only against American principles, the Geneva Convention, and more importantly the common decency of man.
January 12, 2022
“He then said something that sent a chill down my spine: Adminstering a dose that high would induce terror in most subjects that would persist for a month or longer. It's the equivalent of psychological waterboarding."
-
“The people we were guarding weren’t just suspected jihadists or enemy combatants, but men who’d been given drugs by our medical personnel the apparent affect of which was to make them believe they were insane when they arrived”
-
They had found one interesting fact, though.
"This was kind of weird," said Mark,
"Do you remember Paul Taplor, the army guy that talked with you when you visited?"
“Of course," I said
"He found that, according to the CIS file, the necks of those three detainees had been removed during the autopsies--and these had not been returned to their families with the rest of their remains. There were also no autopsy photos of the necks of the deceased."
"So what does that mean?" I asked.
"Well, think about it." said Denbeaux. "If they died by hanging, their necks would show distinctive patterns of bruising. If they died by asphyxiation from rags blocking their airways-
“There'd be no bruising…”
-
mostly felt upset whilst reading this tbh, had to put the book down a few times to take in what i had read but dont regret reading it - interesting to see it from the perspective of a guard and get details you wouldnt find in reading a detainees account.
Hickman proved to be a man of conscience, could have easily ignored what he had seen without any consequence but chose to speak up.
With yesterday being the 20th anniversary of guantanamo thought its worthwhile to mention that action has yet to be taken to close the detention facility (which still holds 39 prisoners) even though it’d been assured since the obama administration.
-
“The people we were guarding weren’t just suspected jihadists or enemy combatants, but men who’d been given drugs by our medical personnel the apparent affect of which was to make them believe they were insane when they arrived”
-
They had found one interesting fact, though.
"This was kind of weird," said Mark,
"Do you remember Paul Taplor, the army guy that talked with you when you visited?"
“Of course," I said
"He found that, according to the CIS file, the necks of those three detainees had been removed during the autopsies--and these had not been returned to their families with the rest of their remains. There were also no autopsy photos of the necks of the deceased."
"So what does that mean?" I asked.
"Well, think about it." said Denbeaux. "If they died by hanging, their necks would show distinctive patterns of bruising. If they died by asphyxiation from rags blocking their airways-
“There'd be no bruising…”
-
mostly felt upset whilst reading this tbh, had to put the book down a few times to take in what i had read but dont regret reading it - interesting to see it from the perspective of a guard and get details you wouldnt find in reading a detainees account.
Hickman proved to be a man of conscience, could have easily ignored what he had seen without any consequence but chose to speak up.
With yesterday being the 20th anniversary of guantanamo thought its worthwhile to mention that action has yet to be taken to close the detention facility (which still holds 39 prisoners) even though it’d been assured since the obama administration.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2015
I wish every congressman, and every potential voter in the next Presidential elections, would read this book. An alarming expose of the impunity in which our military organisations operate, with the covert blessing of politicians and the military's own investigative units.
Shocking, gripping, and ultimately heartbreaking for those readers who believe in freedom and justice for all men, not just Americans.
Shocking, gripping, and ultimately heartbreaking for those readers who believe in freedom and justice for all men, not just Americans.
March 4, 2015
Joseph Hickman shreds any last hope that GITMO is anything more than America's Auschwitz in this deeply depressing recount of his time and experience at Guantanamo Bay and the systematic abuse and murder of three detainees.
The most poignant element of his story is that Hickman is not a left wing activist with ulterior motives but a true blue, red blooded American who re-enlisted after 9/11. Listening to his story as he struggles to balance his love of country, duty to his beloved military and his belief in what is right and wrong and the rule of law, brings a level of credibility other authors may have fell short of.
This is a must read book that helps frame the war crimes the United States government is responsible for and which its citizens are equally culpable.
The most poignant element of his story is that Hickman is not a left wing activist with ulterior motives but a true blue, red blooded American who re-enlisted after 9/11. Listening to his story as he struggles to balance his love of country, duty to his beloved military and his belief in what is right and wrong and the rule of law, brings a level of credibility other authors may have fell short of.
This is a must read book that helps frame the war crimes the United States government is responsible for and which its citizens are equally culpable.
January 27, 2015
**Received from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**
Wow. Just wow.
As the child of a war veteran I'm not often shocked by things the American government does, or at least condones. Reading this account of Joseph Hickman's time at Gitmo was shocking even though I've heard the tales before. It's one thing to hear it second hand from someone else. It's another to read it from an eye-witness.
This is a disturbing look into how far America has come to defend itself against perceived threats. Joseph Hickman's journey for the truth is courageous and admirable. If you want to read about a real American hero, read this book.
Wow. Just wow.
As the child of a war veteran I'm not often shocked by things the American government does, or at least condones. Reading this account of Joseph Hickman's time at Gitmo was shocking even though I've heard the tales before. It's one thing to hear it second hand from someone else. It's another to read it from an eye-witness.
This is a disturbing look into how far America has come to defend itself against perceived threats. Joseph Hickman's journey for the truth is courageous and admirable. If you want to read about a real American hero, read this book.
May 26, 2017
What impressed me most well maybe second-most, behind the harrowing subject matter) is how accessible the writing of this book was, while still maintaining a high level of authority and technical detail. In constantly having references to specific military protocols and ranks and so on, it immerses you utterly into the hellish world of Gitmo, as it also paints a picture of how these atrocities were outside the remit of what was expected of a military installation.
This is the story of a soldier who believes in his country and what that country does, a soldier who was let down by those decision makers, and right through to the end, his faith never wavers, even when people turn on him or question his dedication. You get a real sense that he was just one man in a vile place, that almost everyone else there, be they guard or detainee, were just people, dropped into a bad situation.
It's also worthy of notice that this is Hickman's account of the events that he saw. It is not a definitive alternative narrative to the events that were told to the world back in 2006. It is his opinion, supported by his eyewitness account, and that of his team, along with investigative work after the fact. Again you get that sense of a soldier just trying to report the truth, not attempting a challenge against the country he loves so much.
This is a book about truth, and more importantly, honesty. I make the difference because it's understandable that sometimes secrecy is required in the military as in other organisations – Hickman says so himself in the book, that secrecy of tasks was routine, but it was meant to be a defence mechanism, not a tool for covering up. A lack of honesty is what causes people to cover things up, and these were some significant atrocities to cover up.
An honest read of dishonest events, and well worth your time. This is not a conspiracy theory nutjob book, this is a soldier trying to set the story straight, to do his small part in that.
This is the story of a soldier who believes in his country and what that country does, a soldier who was let down by those decision makers, and right through to the end, his faith never wavers, even when people turn on him or question his dedication. You get a real sense that he was just one man in a vile place, that almost everyone else there, be they guard or detainee, were just people, dropped into a bad situation.
It's also worthy of notice that this is Hickman's account of the events that he saw. It is not a definitive alternative narrative to the events that were told to the world back in 2006. It is his opinion, supported by his eyewitness account, and that of his team, along with investigative work after the fact. Again you get that sense of a soldier just trying to report the truth, not attempting a challenge against the country he loves so much.
This is a book about truth, and more importantly, honesty. I make the difference because it's understandable that sometimes secrecy is required in the military as in other organisations – Hickman says so himself in the book, that secrecy of tasks was routine, but it was meant to be a defence mechanism, not a tool for covering up. A lack of honesty is what causes people to cover things up, and these were some significant atrocities to cover up.
An honest read of dishonest events, and well worth your time. This is not a conspiracy theory nutjob book, this is a soldier trying to set the story straight, to do his small part in that.
November 6, 2022
The continued existence of Guantanamo despite presidential promises to close it never made sense to me. Stories of innocent people being held for years despite lack of evidence of terrorist involvement was confusing. I learned that most prisoners were not captured by US soldiers, but were turned over by Afghan warlords and the like, for payment, only on their word. Not the most reputable of sources. It never made sense, and it defied the America values I was taught had made our country strong. It was criminal, done in secret, and didn't make that much of a public splash when the inhumane treatment and other atrocities were exposed. All for America security, I was told.
I understand that fear makes people desperate. But apparently we are unable to distinguish real danger from rumors of monsters under our bed. I understand that the world is a dangerous place. We have real enemies, like Putin, yet we apparently can't defend ourselves from Russian propaganda and manipulation of our media and elections. Thanks to Guantanamo, we found a place and people upon which to hone inhumane torture techniques. Were any of those techniques used on Maria Butina? She likely caused more damage than anyone at Gitmo, and finding out what she knew would have been beneficial. So, don't lecture me about needing to protect ourselves from our enemies. Some people in our government appear to work for them.
Joseph Hickman is to be commended. He is a veteran and a conservative who truly stood for the US Constitution in letter and in spirit. He gave up his military career and faced pubic criticism in order to reveal the truth behind the murder of three prisoners at Guantanamo. Finally, I understand why the detention center was so hard to close. It served a vile purpose that our government wanted to keep secret. Hickman and researchers at Seton Hall combed through government documents for years. They discovered evidence that the purpose of Gitmo wasn't to get info from detainees, who had little to no knowledge about terrorist organizations. The purpose was to practice interrogation techniques, including dry boarding and drug induced psychological terror. It didn't matter whether the detainees were combatants or not. Of course, now, we have lost moral ground and given our enemies plenty of recruiting material. That makes us less safe, actually.
Only brave, upstanding members of the military like Hickman can expose criminal zealots, like Donald Rumsfeld. Even the media didn't have a clue. Research institutions like Seton Hall are amazing. I'm glad we have folks like these to keep bad players in check. America can be kept safe if we follow truly intelligent and principled leadership, and remove those like Rumsfeld, who take away our humanity and disregard our highest principles. Facing inconvenient truths, removing unethical and misguided leaders, and holding ourselves to the highest standards are necessary to be deserving of patriotism.
I understand that fear makes people desperate. But apparently we are unable to distinguish real danger from rumors of monsters under our bed. I understand that the world is a dangerous place. We have real enemies, like Putin, yet we apparently can't defend ourselves from Russian propaganda and manipulation of our media and elections. Thanks to Guantanamo, we found a place and people upon which to hone inhumane torture techniques. Were any of those techniques used on Maria Butina? She likely caused more damage than anyone at Gitmo, and finding out what she knew would have been beneficial. So, don't lecture me about needing to protect ourselves from our enemies. Some people in our government appear to work for them.
Joseph Hickman is to be commended. He is a veteran and a conservative who truly stood for the US Constitution in letter and in spirit. He gave up his military career and faced pubic criticism in order to reveal the truth behind the murder of three prisoners at Guantanamo. Finally, I understand why the detention center was so hard to close. It served a vile purpose that our government wanted to keep secret. Hickman and researchers at Seton Hall combed through government documents for years. They discovered evidence that the purpose of Gitmo wasn't to get info from detainees, who had little to no knowledge about terrorist organizations. The purpose was to practice interrogation techniques, including dry boarding and drug induced psychological terror. It didn't matter whether the detainees were combatants or not. Of course, now, we have lost moral ground and given our enemies plenty of recruiting material. That makes us less safe, actually.
Only brave, upstanding members of the military like Hickman can expose criminal zealots, like Donald Rumsfeld. Even the media didn't have a clue. Research institutions like Seton Hall are amazing. I'm glad we have folks like these to keep bad players in check. America can be kept safe if we follow truly intelligent and principled leadership, and remove those like Rumsfeld, who take away our humanity and disregard our highest principles. Facing inconvenient truths, removing unethical and misguided leaders, and holding ourselves to the highest standards are necessary to be deserving of patriotism.
May 23, 2018
Although I agree with many reviews that this book needs an annotated bibliography or at least a list of detailed sources, Joseph Hickman's account of the three "suicides" at GTMO in June, 2006 is a chilling account of the night of and days afterward, but also a sad one in which a man becomes disillusioned with and defamed by the military, whose code of honor and integrity Hickman claims as the justification for this book. It's an easy, quick, disturbing read, and another of many accounts of how atrocious the USA's actions became in Bush years and the War on Terror, a result of leadership by ideologues instead of experts in the field. Most striking is Hickman's claim that GTMO is not a detention facility, but rather a "secret battle lab" meant to test rendition techniques. Why else the unnecessary malaria shots? If you read other GTMO books, especially those of detainees, of their hallucinations while in solitary, you'll see how Hickman's claim permeates itself across the literature.
April 29, 2018
a fascinating account for the death of three prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. An indictment of NCIS, FBI and the military as well as Bush/Rumsfeld government of covering up torture: physical and mental of "low level operatives". A book to be read by anyone and everyone.
July 26, 2017
Good book with great insight into what really goes on with the government.
February 6, 2018
Very good. My favorite part is you can tell that it is written by the author, with little to no help from someone else, who would encourage changing wording to be more, "palatable". Meaning, sometimes it gets wordy, but just remind yourself you are reading the words of someone who is an actual witness to the events that night at Guantánamo Bay.
January 2, 2017
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
The revelatory eyewitness account about Guantánamo Bay—detainees murdered, a secret CIA facility for torture, and the US government cover up—by the Staff Sergeant who felt honor-bound to uncover it.
Staff Sergeant Joe Hickman was a loyal member of the armed forces and a proud American patriot. For twenty years, he worked as a prison guard, a private investigator, and in the military, earning more than twenty commendations and awards. When he re-enlisted after 9/11, he served as a team leader and Sergeant of the Guard in Guantánamo Naval Base. From the moment he arrived at Camp Delta, something was amiss. The prisons were chaotic, detainees were abused, and Hickman uncovered by accident a secret facility he labeled “Camp No.” On June 9, 2006, the night Hickman was on duty, three prisoners died, supposed suicides, and Hickman knew something was seriously wrong. So began his epic search for the truth, an odyssey that would lead him to conclude that the US government was using Guantánamo not just as a prison, but as a training ground for interrogators to test advanced torture techniques.
For the first time, Hickman details the inner workings of Camp Delta: the events surrounding the death of three prisoners, the orchestrated the cover-up, and the secret facility at the heart of it all. From his own eyewitness account, and a careful review of thousands of documents, he deconstructs the government’s account of what happened and proves that the military not only tortured prisoners, but lied about their deaths. By revealing Guantánamo’s true nature, Sergeant Hickman shows us why the prison has been so difficult to close. This book opens an important window onto government overreach, secrecy, and one man’s principled search for the truth.
This book was hard to read at times - depending on what you believe about GITMO, reading this book certainly opens the readers eyes to what truly happens inside the walls of what would be the most notorious prison camp since Auschwitz.
The abuse and murder of the inmates - as revealed in this book - are horrific and against everything I would think a reasonable person would accept, but it seemed that everyone was aware and nobody cared. Nobody who had the power to do something about it anyway.
The only part of this book that stopped it from being the full 5 stars was the constant legal explanations. I found it hard to read the processes involved from a legal perspective...but I guess that ties in intricately with the theme of the book so I understand why he wrote it in such a way.
Paul
ARH
The revelatory eyewitness account about Guantánamo Bay—detainees murdered, a secret CIA facility for torture, and the US government cover up—by the Staff Sergeant who felt honor-bound to uncover it.
Staff Sergeant Joe Hickman was a loyal member of the armed forces and a proud American patriot. For twenty years, he worked as a prison guard, a private investigator, and in the military, earning more than twenty commendations and awards. When he re-enlisted after 9/11, he served as a team leader and Sergeant of the Guard in Guantánamo Naval Base. From the moment he arrived at Camp Delta, something was amiss. The prisons were chaotic, detainees were abused, and Hickman uncovered by accident a secret facility he labeled “Camp No.” On June 9, 2006, the night Hickman was on duty, three prisoners died, supposed suicides, and Hickman knew something was seriously wrong. So began his epic search for the truth, an odyssey that would lead him to conclude that the US government was using Guantánamo not just as a prison, but as a training ground for interrogators to test advanced torture techniques.
For the first time, Hickman details the inner workings of Camp Delta: the events surrounding the death of three prisoners, the orchestrated the cover-up, and the secret facility at the heart of it all. From his own eyewitness account, and a careful review of thousands of documents, he deconstructs the government’s account of what happened and proves that the military not only tortured prisoners, but lied about their deaths. By revealing Guantánamo’s true nature, Sergeant Hickman shows us why the prison has been so difficult to close. This book opens an important window onto government overreach, secrecy, and one man’s principled search for the truth.
This book was hard to read at times - depending on what you believe about GITMO, reading this book certainly opens the readers eyes to what truly happens inside the walls of what would be the most notorious prison camp since Auschwitz.
The abuse and murder of the inmates - as revealed in this book - are horrific and against everything I would think a reasonable person would accept, but it seemed that everyone was aware and nobody cared. Nobody who had the power to do something about it anyway.
The only part of this book that stopped it from being the full 5 stars was the constant legal explanations. I found it hard to read the processes involved from a legal perspective...but I guess that ties in intricately with the theme of the book so I understand why he wrote it in such a way.
Paul
ARH
April 3, 2015
With the deluge of news, fake news, government propaganda, speculation, and opinion about Guantanamo, I had completely missed this incident: the death in custody of three detainees, and the subsequent cover-up in the summer of 2006. I vaguely remember the nonsense about detainee suicides being a case of "asymmetrical warfare" and thinking what a crock of shit that was. But the specifics, as eventually revealed by the researchers at Seton Hall, and by Hickman via Scott Horton: this completely escaped my attention. In part, I suppose, because the mass media completely ignored the story, even after it was published in Harpers: they were far too busy, after all, transcribing official government pronouncements.
The cover-up began with the NCIS report of the incident - a report riddled with inconsistencies and absurdities, and released in such a fashion that it was extremely difficult to make any sense of it all. Its 3000 pages were released out of order, in pdf format, with many pages lacking page numbers, and heavily redacted. The cover-up continued after Hickman told his story to the army inspector general, representatives from the FBI, and a prosecutor from the Justice department. These representatives of justice simply dismissed his story as not credible, without interviewing the additional witnesses Hickman provided, and without reinterviewing the witnesses whose sworn statements in the NCIS report were nonsensical or impossible. This final stage of the cover-up occurred under the Obama administration.
The details of how and why the detainees died will forever remain a mystery, probably. But what is certain is that they did not commit suicide in their cells, as an act of asymmetrical warfare or for any other reason.
The cover-up began with the NCIS report of the incident - a report riddled with inconsistencies and absurdities, and released in such a fashion that it was extremely difficult to make any sense of it all. Its 3000 pages were released out of order, in pdf format, with many pages lacking page numbers, and heavily redacted. The cover-up continued after Hickman told his story to the army inspector general, representatives from the FBI, and a prosecutor from the Justice department. These representatives of justice simply dismissed his story as not credible, without interviewing the additional witnesses Hickman provided, and without reinterviewing the witnesses whose sworn statements in the NCIS report were nonsensical or impossible. This final stage of the cover-up occurred under the Obama administration.
The details of how and why the detainees died will forever remain a mystery, probably. But what is certain is that they did not commit suicide in their cells, as an act of asymmetrical warfare or for any other reason.
March 31, 2015
I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.
I admire what Joseph did standing up for what he thought was right. However, I find it really hard to believe that he wouldn't participate in any of the torture/bullying antics at the camp. I don't blame the people there, I blame the environment and the conditions. I think that anyone who was there would participate in some way or another.
I liked the book but I wish that he had spent a bit more of the book detailing more about the camp and a little less about the legal process. The first half seemed rushed while the second half had much more detail. I think that Joseph did the right thing and I respect him for standing up in the end for what he knew was right.
I admire what Joseph did standing up for what he thought was right. However, I find it really hard to believe that he wouldn't participate in any of the torture/bullying antics at the camp. I don't blame the people there, I blame the environment and the conditions. I think that anyone who was there would participate in some way or another.
I liked the book but I wish that he had spent a bit more of the book detailing more about the camp and a little less about the legal process. The first half seemed rushed while the second half had much more detail. I think that Joseph did the right thing and I respect him for standing up in the end for what he knew was right.
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August 30, 2020I found this book absolutely fascinating. Before beginning the book I knew very little about America's overseas detainment centres or Guantanamo Bay, so everything I read was shocking and thought-provoking. The author does very well in writing a compelling recount of his experiences, with time spent both describing his time employed at the prison and his involvement in the subsequent legal battle. Parts of it felt like a mystery novel, and I was left wanting to pick up the book constantly just so that I could find out more and piece together what really occurred on that fateful day. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in America's recent history - even if non-fiction does not usually take your fancy.
July 9, 2015
The author outlined his role and events witnessed at Gitmo. A reported cover up by his superiors and the NCiS. The staff Sergeants quest for the truth. The book outlines a step by step process to uncover the truth even though some parts remain unknown.
January 14, 2016
An excellent fact based book that calls into question the true circumstances of the death of the 3 detainees. Not only the circumstances are called into question but the manner and scope of the purported thorough and lengthy investigations by different government agencies.
February 1, 2017
This book questions 3 detainees suicides at Gitmo and if they were really caused due to torture at a not officially acknowledged camp at Guantanamo Bay.
I find it odd that this story hasn't received more press---- if it was more credible. By the end of the book, it seemed to be repetitive.
I find it odd that this story hasn't received more press---- if it was more credible. By the end of the book, it seemed to be repetitive.
February 11, 2015
Really grabs your attention and holds it all the way through. Much
shocking stuff in here for me as I have never followed the news about Guantanamo.
shocking stuff in here for me as I have never followed the news about Guantanamo.
July 30, 2015
If you have ever been curious about the USA detention centre at Guantanamo Bay be sure to read this book. A fascinating tale of coverup and spin.......
March 22, 2016
Interesting book about GITMO from someone who was there in the mid 2000s.
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March 30, 2016Good read, kind of a weak ending.
January 3, 2017
Strong view of showing the Gitmo controversy; it's a fast moving book at the beginning, a little bogged down in the last third and ends strong.
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