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The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo's First 100 Days
Named one of the Washington Post Book World's Best Books of 2009, The Least Worst Place offers a gripping narrative account of the first one hundred days of Guantanamo. Greenberg, one of America's leading experts on the Bush Administration's policies on terrorism, tells the story through a group of career officers who tried--and ultimately failed--to stymie the Pentagon's desire to implement harsh new policies in Guantanamo and bypass the Geneva Conventions. Peopled with genuine heroes and villains, this narrative of the earliest days of the post-9/11 era centers on the conflicts between Gitmo-based Marine officers intent on upholding the Geneva Accords and an intelligence unit set up under the Pentagon's aegis. The latter ultimately won out, replacing transparency with secrecy, military protocol with violations of basic operation procedures, and humane and legal detainee treatment with harsh interrogation methods and torture. Greenberg's riveting account puts a human face on this little-known story, revealing how America first lost its moral bearings in the wake of 9/11.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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August 28, 2016
An examination of how America conducted itself at Gitmo, and how early attempts at a humane treatment of the detainees were thwarted by political intervention. Its a sad story of how America lost the moral high ground in dealing with the enemy, by sinking to the level of the enemy.
February 1, 2015
In the wake of September eleventh, the U.S.-led "War on
Terror" began with nearly the entire world sympathetic to
America's cause and condemning al-Qaeda. It didn't take
long for the Bush administrations ham-fisted response to
reverse much of the world's feelings in the matter. Among
the most influential of the policy disasters that won the
sympathies of so many for al-Qaeda was the detention
facility at Guantanamo Bay. In The Least Worst Place, Karen
Greenberg, director of NYU’s Center on Law and Security,
takes a close-up look at the first hundred days (from
December 2001 thru March 2002) in the life of Camp X-Ray,
the initial detention facility for prisoners from the invasion
of Afghanistan. She examines the persons and pressures
that shaped Camp X-Ray into a world-wide embarrassment
for the U.S..
The U.S. has maintained a naval base (designated GTMO
or"Gitmo") on Cuba's Guantanamo Bay since 1903 when it
was one of the "spoils of war" acquired as a result of the
Spanish-American War. Gitmo had previously served as a
prison camp for Haitian refugees from the 1970's until it
was declared unconstitutional to do so in 1993.
Following the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 the Defense
Department again turned to Gitmo as a secure site outside
the continental U.S. for a prison camp. The special
attraction of Gitmo over established facilities in the U.S. lay
in a bizarre interpretation of law that held that as long as
the prisoners were held outside the U.S., their confinement
was not subject to U.S. laws. Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo
was quickly established as a temporary facility until
construction of the more permanent Camp Delta was
completed.
The Bush administration asserted -- falsely as the courts
subsequently concluded and as a plain reading of the
Geneva Conventions would have shown -- that the detainees
were "unlawful combatants" and thus not covered by the
Geneva Convention. Hence there was no standard for how
they were to be treated while in detention. The marines
charged with guarding them at Camp X-Ray and the
American public were told that the detainees were "the
worst of the worst" -- hardened al-Qaeda and Taliban
zealots.
When the first detainees arrived from Bagram Air Force
Base in Afghanistan, they didn't live up to the Marine's
expectations. Instead of hardened, fanatical fighting men,
most of the detainees seemed to be malnourished and
rather passive, with a number being elderly and some
others being children. Even their language was, in most
cases, not the Arabic the guards were expecting, but
Persian and Pashto, the national languages of Afghanistan.
The circumstances of their capture were unknown to
anyone, their personal effects had been mixed together and
could not be matched to their owner, and the Pentagon
refused to support any measures that would pin down their
legal status as combatants or civilians.
The Marine staff, officially known as Joint Task Force 160
(JTF-160), under the command of Marine Brigadier General
Michael Lehnert, sought to create a detention facility that
would comply with the Geneva Conventions and the
Uniform Code of Military Justice. Initially left on their own,
Gen. Lehnert and his staff struggled to strike a balance
between confinement and humane treatment of their
prisoners. After the first few months, however, Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld began to take a direct interest in
the operations of Camp X-Ray and in its ability to validate
his distorted version of reality in the "War on Terror".
In February, 2002, Rumsfeld created a second, parallel
command under reservist Major General Michael Dunlavey
that was designated JTF-170. This parallel command was
apparently established as an alternative to trying to give the
professional military of JTF-160 orders to perform
interrogations in a manner that violated the Geneva
Convention. Rather than work through the unit in charge of
detention, they chose to work around it. Eighteen months
later a similar parallel organization structure was established
at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where it also contributed
to a breakdown of administration and a pattern of human
rights violations. The two commands existed side by side at
Gitmo until they were merged into a single Joint Task Force
GTMO under General Geoffrey Miller in November of 2002.
It is perhaps ironic that the same Gen. Miller was later sent
to Abu Ghraib to unify the parallel commands there.
While Gen. Dunlavey and his JTF-170, like Gen. Lehnert
and JTF-160, nominally reported to the U.S. Southern
Command, he also had a direct channel to Secretary
Rumsfeld. As Greenberg points out, Gen. Dunlavey was in a
position to pick and choose which information to convey up
each line of authority. There was a continuing clash
between the two units and the opposed priorities of their
commanders, but Gen. Dunlavey held the higher rank and
had greater ties to Washington, so his priorities and
policies prevailed.
When he first arrived at Guantanamo to command JTF-160,
even before the detainees were enroute, Gen. Lehnert
requested the presence at Camp X-Ray of representatives
from the Red Cross. While the presence of Red Cross
observers at any such facility is normal military practice,
in this case his request was denied by the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, at U.S. Southern Command there was
widespread agreement that a Red Cross presence was
necessary. Finally, one of the military lawyers at Southern
Command frustrated by the Pentagon's refusal to comply
with international law called the Red Cross in Geneva and
invited them to send observers to Guantanamo. Secretary
Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs were not pleased by this
action and let the lawyer know it. While they would later
claim to have invited the Red Cross is, they actually sought
to delay or divert the Red Cross inspection when they were
faced with its imminence.
While Greenberg more than adequately documents the
ongoing violations of human rights that have occurred at
the Gitmo detention facilities, her account is not just an
exposé of Guantanamo horrors. The grand theme of this
book is the importance of the rule of law, which must never
be subordinated to claims of national security, patriotism,
or God being on our side. It is her point, that it is dutiful
adherence to international law, not personal integrity, that
is the foundation and ultimate guarantor of humane policy
in world affairs. This is a lesson that not only needs to be
well learned by our national leaders, who have all to often
failed to behave decently, but one that every citizen of a
democracy needs to learn, because the public has all too
often proved eager to support leaders in abandoning the
rule of law and democratic values. The terrorists, of course,
rely upon and benefit from knee jerk reactions such as
Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, or the Patriot Act.
Terror" began with nearly the entire world sympathetic to
America's cause and condemning al-Qaeda. It didn't take
long for the Bush administrations ham-fisted response to
reverse much of the world's feelings in the matter. Among
the most influential of the policy disasters that won the
sympathies of so many for al-Qaeda was the detention
facility at Guantanamo Bay. In The Least Worst Place, Karen
Greenberg, director of NYU’s Center on Law and Security,
takes a close-up look at the first hundred days (from
December 2001 thru March 2002) in the life of Camp X-Ray,
the initial detention facility for prisoners from the invasion
of Afghanistan. She examines the persons and pressures
that shaped Camp X-Ray into a world-wide embarrassment
for the U.S..
The U.S. has maintained a naval base (designated GTMO
or"Gitmo") on Cuba's Guantanamo Bay since 1903 when it
was one of the "spoils of war" acquired as a result of the
Spanish-American War. Gitmo had previously served as a
prison camp for Haitian refugees from the 1970's until it
was declared unconstitutional to do so in 1993.
Following the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 the Defense
Department again turned to Gitmo as a secure site outside
the continental U.S. for a prison camp. The special
attraction of Gitmo over established facilities in the U.S. lay
in a bizarre interpretation of law that held that as long as
the prisoners were held outside the U.S., their confinement
was not subject to U.S. laws. Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo
was quickly established as a temporary facility until
construction of the more permanent Camp Delta was
completed.
The Bush administration asserted -- falsely as the courts
subsequently concluded and as a plain reading of the
Geneva Conventions would have shown -- that the detainees
were "unlawful combatants" and thus not covered by the
Geneva Convention. Hence there was no standard for how
they were to be treated while in detention. The marines
charged with guarding them at Camp X-Ray and the
American public were told that the detainees were "the
worst of the worst" -- hardened al-Qaeda and Taliban
zealots.
When the first detainees arrived from Bagram Air Force
Base in Afghanistan, they didn't live up to the Marine's
expectations. Instead of hardened, fanatical fighting men,
most of the detainees seemed to be malnourished and
rather passive, with a number being elderly and some
others being children. Even their language was, in most
cases, not the Arabic the guards were expecting, but
Persian and Pashto, the national languages of Afghanistan.
The circumstances of their capture were unknown to
anyone, their personal effects had been mixed together and
could not be matched to their owner, and the Pentagon
refused to support any measures that would pin down their
legal status as combatants or civilians.
The Marine staff, officially known as Joint Task Force 160
(JTF-160), under the command of Marine Brigadier General
Michael Lehnert, sought to create a detention facility that
would comply with the Geneva Conventions and the
Uniform Code of Military Justice. Initially left on their own,
Gen. Lehnert and his staff struggled to strike a balance
between confinement and humane treatment of their
prisoners. After the first few months, however, Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld began to take a direct interest in
the operations of Camp X-Ray and in its ability to validate
his distorted version of reality in the "War on Terror".
In February, 2002, Rumsfeld created a second, parallel
command under reservist Major General Michael Dunlavey
that was designated JTF-170. This parallel command was
apparently established as an alternative to trying to give the
professional military of JTF-160 orders to perform
interrogations in a manner that violated the Geneva
Convention. Rather than work through the unit in charge of
detention, they chose to work around it. Eighteen months
later a similar parallel organization structure was established
at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where it also contributed
to a breakdown of administration and a pattern of human
rights violations. The two commands existed side by side at
Gitmo until they were merged into a single Joint Task Force
GTMO under General Geoffrey Miller in November of 2002.
It is perhaps ironic that the same Gen. Miller was later sent
to Abu Ghraib to unify the parallel commands there.
While Gen. Dunlavey and his JTF-170, like Gen. Lehnert
and JTF-160, nominally reported to the U.S. Southern
Command, he also had a direct channel to Secretary
Rumsfeld. As Greenberg points out, Gen. Dunlavey was in a
position to pick and choose which information to convey up
each line of authority. There was a continuing clash
between the two units and the opposed priorities of their
commanders, but Gen. Dunlavey held the higher rank and
had greater ties to Washington, so his priorities and
policies prevailed.
When he first arrived at Guantanamo to command JTF-160,
even before the detainees were enroute, Gen. Lehnert
requested the presence at Camp X-Ray of representatives
from the Red Cross. While the presence of Red Cross
observers at any such facility is normal military practice,
in this case his request was denied by the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, at U.S. Southern Command there was
widespread agreement that a Red Cross presence was
necessary. Finally, one of the military lawyers at Southern
Command frustrated by the Pentagon's refusal to comply
with international law called the Red Cross in Geneva and
invited them to send observers to Guantanamo. Secretary
Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs were not pleased by this
action and let the lawyer know it. While they would later
claim to have invited the Red Cross is, they actually sought
to delay or divert the Red Cross inspection when they were
faced with its imminence.
While Greenberg more than adequately documents the
ongoing violations of human rights that have occurred at
the Gitmo detention facilities, her account is not just an
exposé of Guantanamo horrors. The grand theme of this
book is the importance of the rule of law, which must never
be subordinated to claims of national security, patriotism,
or God being on our side. It is her point, that it is dutiful
adherence to international law, not personal integrity, that
is the foundation and ultimate guarantor of humane policy
in world affairs. This is a lesson that not only needs to be
well learned by our national leaders, who have all to often
failed to behave decently, but one that every citizen of a
democracy needs to learn, because the public has all too
often proved eager to support leaders in abandoning the
rule of law and democratic values. The terrorists, of course,
rely upon and benefit from knee jerk reactions such as
Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, or the Patriot Act.
February 28, 2009
Karen Greenberg's view of an imprisoned ideology which has insulted a new generation.
Reviewed by Phillip Taylor MBE.
I come to this book from a very different standpoint to that of Karen Greenberg because I have served in the armed forces, and I am a practising lawyer.
For anyone involved in law enforcement and custodial systems, certain rules must be followed in a civilised society- they weren't here.
Greenberg, from her perspective, outlines (with edge) the initial phase of this 'custodial operation' beginning with the concept of confinement which gives the public a rest from these alleged terrorists' acivities, to outright torture...without trial.
The 'T' word (torture, not trial) must be used sparingly but the evidence which Greenberg assembles from observers and participants between December 21, 2001 to March 31, 2002 is compelling...and damning.
The book makes disturbing reading, especially for Obama supporters who now see some idea of the measure of responsibility and the task set for the new President to make amends.
There is only one conclusion to this book- it mustn't happen again. And how many times have we heard that before?
The title 'The Least Worst Place' is just the start of the twisting and the bending of policies which Allies and supporters had trustingly placed in Bush's administration.
To say the US has lost its moral bearings with this camp is strong but just when Greenberg provides excellent footnotes to justify her assertions albeit it from her left wing perspective which I have no quarrel with here as this is not about 'left' or 'right' wing to me.
This book should be read to remind people of how not to behave when we are the 'good guys' for fear of turning us into the 'bad guys'...which is exactly what has happened with Guantanamo.
As a lawyer, my basic creed, like that of saving life with a doctor, is to try people fairly, telling them what they are accused of- not to lock people up without trial and throw away the key whilst the inmates suffer serious violence. The behaviour at this prison was not acceptable and I find no words in mitigation.
I am glad Karen Greenberg has written this book- she ends it with 'what goes around comes around'- the conclusion of the man on the Clapham Omnibus is that the circle must be stopped in the 21st century, and there are no excuses in a civilised society.
Reviewed by Phillip Taylor MBE.
I come to this book from a very different standpoint to that of Karen Greenberg because I have served in the armed forces, and I am a practising lawyer.
For anyone involved in law enforcement and custodial systems, certain rules must be followed in a civilised society- they weren't here.
Greenberg, from her perspective, outlines (with edge) the initial phase of this 'custodial operation' beginning with the concept of confinement which gives the public a rest from these alleged terrorists' acivities, to outright torture...without trial.
The 'T' word (torture, not trial) must be used sparingly but the evidence which Greenberg assembles from observers and participants between December 21, 2001 to March 31, 2002 is compelling...and damning.
The book makes disturbing reading, especially for Obama supporters who now see some idea of the measure of responsibility and the task set for the new President to make amends.
There is only one conclusion to this book- it mustn't happen again. And how many times have we heard that before?
The title 'The Least Worst Place' is just the start of the twisting and the bending of policies which Allies and supporters had trustingly placed in Bush's administration.
To say the US has lost its moral bearings with this camp is strong but just when Greenberg provides excellent footnotes to justify her assertions albeit it from her left wing perspective which I have no quarrel with here as this is not about 'left' or 'right' wing to me.
This book should be read to remind people of how not to behave when we are the 'good guys' for fear of turning us into the 'bad guys'...which is exactly what has happened with Guantanamo.
As a lawyer, my basic creed, like that of saving life with a doctor, is to try people fairly, telling them what they are accused of- not to lock people up without trial and throw away the key whilst the inmates suffer serious violence. The behaviour at this prison was not acceptable and I find no words in mitigation.
I am glad Karen Greenberg has written this book- she ends it with 'what goes around comes around'- the conclusion of the man on the Clapham Omnibus is that the circle must be stopped in the 21st century, and there are no excuses in a civilised society.
March 8, 2009
AN IMPRISONED IDEOLOGY WHICH HAS INSULTED A NEW GENERATION
Reviewed by Phillip Taylor MBE
I come to this book from a very different standpoint to that of Karen Greenberg because I have served in the armed forces, and I am a lawyer.
For anyone involved in law enforcement and custodial systems, certain rules must be followed in a civilised society- they weren't here.
Greenberg, from her perspective, outlines (with edge) the initial phase of this 'custodial operation' beginning with the concept of confinement which gives the public a rest from these alleged terrorists' activities, to outright torture...without trial.
The 'T' word (torture, not trial) must be used sparingly but the evidence which Greenberg assembles from observers and participants between December 2001 and 31st March 2002 is both compelling ... and damning.
The book makes disturbing reading, especially for Obama supporters who now see some idea of the measure of responsibility and the task set for the new President to make amends.
There is only one conclusion to this book- it mustn't happen again. And how many times have we heard that before?
The title 'The Least Worst Place' is just the start of the twisting and the bending of policies which Allies and supporters had trustingly placed in Bush's administration.
To say the US has lost its moral bearings with this camp is strong but just when Greenberg provides excellent footnotes to justify her assertions albeit it from her left wing perspective which I have no quarrel with here as this is not about 'left' or 'right' wing to me.
This book should be read to remind people of how not to behave when we are the 'good guys' for fear of turning us into the 'bad guys'...which is exactly what has happened with Guantanamo.
As a lawyer, my basic creed, like that of saving life with a doctor, is to try people fairly, telling them what they are accused of- not to lock people up without trial and throw away the key whilst the inmates suffer serious violence. The behaviour at this prison was not acceptable and I find no words in mitigation.
I am glad Karen Greenberg has written this book- she ends it with 'what goes around comes around'- the conclusion of the man on the Clapham Omnibus is that the circle must be stopped in the 21st century, and there are no excuses in a civilised society.
Reviewed by Phillip Taylor MBE
I come to this book from a very different standpoint to that of Karen Greenberg because I have served in the armed forces, and I am a lawyer.
For anyone involved in law enforcement and custodial systems, certain rules must be followed in a civilised society- they weren't here.
Greenberg, from her perspective, outlines (with edge) the initial phase of this 'custodial operation' beginning with the concept of confinement which gives the public a rest from these alleged terrorists' activities, to outright torture...without trial.
The 'T' word (torture, not trial) must be used sparingly but the evidence which Greenberg assembles from observers and participants between December 2001 and 31st March 2002 is both compelling ... and damning.
The book makes disturbing reading, especially for Obama supporters who now see some idea of the measure of responsibility and the task set for the new President to make amends.
There is only one conclusion to this book- it mustn't happen again. And how many times have we heard that before?
The title 'The Least Worst Place' is just the start of the twisting and the bending of policies which Allies and supporters had trustingly placed in Bush's administration.
To say the US has lost its moral bearings with this camp is strong but just when Greenberg provides excellent footnotes to justify her assertions albeit it from her left wing perspective which I have no quarrel with here as this is not about 'left' or 'right' wing to me.
This book should be read to remind people of how not to behave when we are the 'good guys' for fear of turning us into the 'bad guys'...which is exactly what has happened with Guantanamo.
As a lawyer, my basic creed, like that of saving life with a doctor, is to try people fairly, telling them what they are accused of- not to lock people up without trial and throw away the key whilst the inmates suffer serious violence. The behaviour at this prison was not acceptable and I find no words in mitigation.
I am glad Karen Greenberg has written this book- she ends it with 'what goes around comes around'- the conclusion of the man on the Clapham Omnibus is that the circle must be stopped in the 21st century, and there are no excuses in a civilised society.
July 7, 2009
This was a good description of what was happening at the early days of the Guantanamo Bay prison and it paints a convincing picture that things could have gone another way. It shows the tensions within the military command structure and among the different branches, as well as tensions in the civilian leadership (notably between the Department of State's and the Department of Defense's offices of legal counsel).
The story is definitely told from the point of view of the military commanders, not the guards, and not the detainees. This isn't all bad, it shows that among the commanders there were tendencies to work within the orders given to move to a more detention/humanitarian mode from a prison/interrogation model. It's also clear which path the author favors, not that I disagreed with her. While the book is valuable in illustrating the path not chosen and helping see the mindset of the commanders in the field, there are definitely voices that are not as central a part of this book.
I also learned a lot about what was going on at Guantanamo at the times when I was probably least aware of it. There are a lot of interesting details like how the guards reacted to English speaking prisoners and the interactions with the ICRC. Definitely recommended for those interested in the topic even though I didn't give it 5 stars.
The story is definitely told from the point of view of the military commanders, not the guards, and not the detainees. This isn't all bad, it shows that among the commanders there were tendencies to work within the orders given to move to a more detention/humanitarian mode from a prison/interrogation model. It's also clear which path the author favors, not that I disagreed with her. While the book is valuable in illustrating the path not chosen and helping see the mindset of the commanders in the field, there are definitely voices that are not as central a part of this book.
I also learned a lot about what was going on at Guantanamo at the times when I was probably least aware of it. There are a lot of interesting details like how the guards reacted to English speaking prisoners and the interactions with the ICRC. Definitely recommended for those interested in the topic even though I didn't give it 5 stars.
July 30, 2012
This is an easy read that gives a look into pieces of the Guantanamo story that most Americans don't know. Greenberg does a nice job drawing together the facts and lays them out in a history book that reads at the pace of an action novel.
***
The plan may have been primarily to teach the world a lesson: Americans can be as cruel as others. Americans can turn their backs on law and reciprocity among nations as well as any tribally organized dictatorship can. Americans can dehumanize other human beings by a reliance on fear and the human impulse toward vengeance (4506, Kindle Edition).
***
The plan may have been primarily to teach the world a lesson: Americans can be as cruel as others. Americans can turn their backs on law and reciprocity among nations as well as any tribally organized dictatorship can. Americans can dehumanize other human beings by a reliance on fear and the human impulse toward vengeance (4506, Kindle Edition).
Want to read
June 26, 2009This book sounds very interesting as reviewed in The Washington Post. Hope my library picks it up soon!
Want to read
February 6, 2009Just saw this on Jon Stewart. Looks like a must-read. Might explain how we got into this mess.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews