© Khaama Press (KP)Afghan prisoner, Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
The author of the study by the Afghan Analysts Network says systemic ignorance of reality by both intelligence and military, as well as attempts to justify the War on Terror by any means necessary, have created a mechanism that only prolonged the conflict - America's longest in history - and strengthened the Taliban insurgency.
Author Kate Clark delves deep into the case of eight remaining Afghans at Guantanamo. Their varying stories are used as case studies for how badly things can go wrong if bad intelligence is being upheld by a rigged justice system. The eight are the longest-serving inmates, all of whom are either still at Guantanamo, or have been transferred to UAE facilities. Of the eight, six were captured in the early days of groundless arbitrary detentions. The report, based on a wealth of documents and testimony, found that the "in none of the eight cases" has the US military "been able to substantiate its accusations." Moreover, the special boards set up to ensure only enemy combatants were detained, failed in the basic task of clearing out "obvious, multiple mistakes" from detainee files - something that all but ensured wrongful detention.
And finally, it was found that the faltering justice mechanism was unwilling to stand up to the executive: "they have failed to question what the government has asserted or protect individuals from the arbitrary power of the state," Clark writes. "Reading through the United States military and court documents outlining the allegations and evidence against these eight men, one enters a Kafkaesque world of strange, vague accusations, rife with hearsay, secret evidence, bad translations, gross errors of fact and testimony obtained under duress and torture," she recounts.
Comment: Independent validation of the Guantanamo Bay travesty, the frightening state of US illegal power to ignore, abuse and fabricate its justifications, has managed to continue without proper examination, rectification or prosecution for those who should be held responsible. Shame on the US and shame on its justice system. The ends do not justify the means.