More On Dick Durbin And Gitmo

Dick Durbin's appearance on Meet The Press was littered with all sorts of foreign policy blunders. In one instance however, I want to thank David Gregory for asking the exact question at the same time that I did to Dick Durbin (albeit I was shouting at the TV and David Gregory was sitting across the table from him). That question was: "Where is the evidence?"

Dick Durbin, echoing the President this past week, maintains that the US prison at Guantanamo Bay is used and has been used successfully as a recruiting tool for al Qaeda. The President even claims that Guantanamo created more terrorists than it ever detained. Obviously this is all hyperbole, something we are getting used to, but it is seriously distorted. This is a serious claim that is being levied in the name of closing Gitmo, and it's very important that we are as accurate as we can be with this argument.

Durbin's evidence is that we can attribute these numbers to Major Matthew Alexander, who after personally interrogating some al Qaeda suspects in Iraq concluded that half of them "had been recruited and were fighting trying to kill Americans because of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo." Now there's some sound evidence-gathering if I've ever seen it.

First of all, there is a serious (and misplaced) conflation between Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. Abu Ghraib was a horrible aberration that was addressed promptly appropriately. Regarding detainee treatment, Gitmo could not be further from Abu Ghraib. Sure I've read some of the testimonies of guards at Gitmo who used rough techniques with the prisoners in the early years. But this is war people, it's not a bed and breakfast. After the alarm was sounded about possible detainee mistreatment issues at Gitmo Human Rights Watch and other groups (The Red Cross has a shop set up across the street) have complete access to the facility and keep very close tabs on the conditions.

In addition, the President has conceded that an option for closing Gitmo would be creating an identical prison in the US. In effect, the change would just be in the name. Now isn't that some change I can believe in.

As for the other option of moving Gitmo detainees into US Supermax prisons, there is now serious concern after last week's news. All of the 4 terrorists arrested last week (in the foiled plan to blow up a synagogue in New York) were converted to their extremist ideology in prison. One almost thinks that there was divine intervention meant to nip in the bud the notion that we can keep these detainees in a general prison population in the US where they'd be able pollute the already noxious atmosphere with their distorted extremism.

If the numbers provided by Major Alexander are even remotely accurate (which I highly doubt they are) closing Gitmo would do very little to stifle recruitment by terrorists. Even if we did close it, do you think the terrorists rely solely on the cold hard facts in their recruitment? These people rely on a mixture of rumor and nonsense that resonate in a very medieval way in order to bring people into their fold ("Did you know that the women can show their arms in America? They teach women to read in America!") And do you really think potential recruits are scrupulous enough in their decision-making to say "Wait, no, they closed Guantanamo. I think I'm going to have to reconsider my virulent anti-Americanism. Democratic capitalism isn't bad after all. No more terrorism for me. Here's my Soviet-issued AK-47 from 1976 which I don't know how to shoot properly and some IEDs. Sorry, the jig is up. I'm moving to America, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, where they no longer have Gitmo, the main reason I hated them so much." The question answers itself. Al Qaeda and other extremist groups are barbarians whose objective seems to be establishing a global Islamic caliphate. Closing Gitmo will have a negligible effect on deterring potential recruits. The argument is completely bogus and the President and members of Congress should stop fooling themselves and lying to the country.

Disclaimer: This post relies on certain terrorist stereotypes.