Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
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E-Mail From Guantanamo Bay

Good news a well-kept secret

By Dom Giordano

When you hear the words Guantanamo Bay, the words Abu Ghraib seem to echo back.

But I was in Guantanamo for three days last week, and I saw something very different. I concluded that, at Gitmo, we extract information from prisoners not by torture but by developing rapport with them. It involves amenities. Full rolls of toilet paper. Fruit baskets. A field trip barbecue. I talked to prisoners, visited cell blocks, surveyed their medical care, interviewed the base commander and chief interrogator on my show, and allowed callers to probe them with questions. My research extended to the officers who escorted me to breakfast and lunch - even to times when all parties were well lubricated at the Tiki Bar.

The leadership at Gitmo is much more disciplined and focused than the leadership of Maj. Gen. Janis Karpinski at Abu Ghraib appears to have been. Soldiers at Gitmo say they are repulsed by the photos and stories from Abu Ghraib. Senior staff told me of strict patrols of the prison to make sure all is being done properly.

Another great contrast with Abu Ghraib was the interrogator I met at Camp Delta. She was fluent in Arabic and talked about various ways she was able to reach prisoners. She’s not leading anyone around in a dog collar.

One story probably summarized best what I saw at Gitmo. I was sitting in a chair in one of the interrogation rooms at Camp Delta when the chief interrogator told me the chair wheels were one of their greatest tools. Some sort of torture device? No: The wheels let interrogators slide in closely to bond with prisoners when they believe they are telling the truth and move away when they are lying.

This mentality is the legacy of Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Miller, who is accused of taking his “brutal” tactics from Gitmo to Iraq and causing the prison scandal. I can’t know what Miller did in Iraq, but I think most of us would find the system he put in place in Gitmo as humane and fair treatment for captured Taliban and al-Qaeda members. In fact, a number of my listeners felt the treatment was too good for people we have reason to believe are among the worst of the terrorists.

This picture of humane treatment isn’t being widely disseminated by other media sources. Their agenda seems to be that if they can’t find a horror story, then there’s no story to report. But it should be big news, to stand in contrast to Abu Ghraib.

Humane treatment works not only to get information but also to dissuade significant numbers of these guys away from their urges to attack and kill Americans. In fact, 144 prisoners have been sent back home and have been judged to be a threat to us no longer. I was amazed to consider that we are reaching good numbers of these former al-Qaeda and Taliban members.

I can’t say whether the information they are getting at Gitmo is really helping to prevent attacks. I can say they are staying patient and positive.

At Gitmo, they are beginning to assemble military tribunals for four inmates. These were called for by President Bush and, if approved by the Supreme Court, will begin later this summer. This promises to put the American system of justice on view for all the world. For example, Osama bin Laden’s driver is at Guantanamo. It will interest many people to know this man has a lawyer - a U.S. military officer who, as I found out, intends to mount a detailed and aggressive defense of his client.

So it’s not that the American people can’t handle the truth. It’s that they are not getting enough of the truth. A visit to Guantanamo persuaded me that the truth is comforting.

Dom Giordano is a talk-show host with WPHT-AM (1210) and provides education reports for NBC-TV (Channel 10)

Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
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I have been receiving a number of reports from our heroes in Iraq.  These first-hand accounts are the stories the mainstream media REFUSES to show.  Shame on them.  Our troops deserve to have the truth about their good work reported. Note: I’ve deleted reference to the specific units involved to ensure that no one gets into any trouble for reporting from the field.

Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 3:39 AM
Subject: CO’s Letter from Iraq

Marines, what follows is a family sitrep letter from a LtCol XXXX XXXX, in Iraq.

It will make your Memorial Weekend.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

We miss you! I’d like to take a few minutes to pass on what the battalion has been up to during the past thirty days. To say that we have been busy would be the understatement of the decade and I must tell you that your Marines and Sailors have been amazing not only with their flexibility and ability to adapt to changing missions and locations, but they have been amazing in terms of their courage and tenacity.

As of the 19th of April we were still in our original location of
Mahmudiya (about 30 miles South of Bagdhad) and we were making significant progress in developing and improving the relationships and security situation in the four major urban centers of Mahmudiya Qada (county).

XXXX Company had been working in Mahmudiya city proper, XXXX had been focusing its operations in Latifiyah, XXXX in Yusafiyah, XXXX in Rasheed, XXXX across the AO in a Quick Response Force role and our XXXX Company, as always, focuses everywhere supporting every conceivable facet of our operations.

Simultaneously, the 81mm mortar platoon had been making significant strides in training and conducting operations with the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps Battalion that had been started under our predecessors in the US Army’s 82d Airborne Division.

We had seen an increase in both security and “winning the hearts and minds” through the diligent and compassionate work of our Marines and Sailors, but because we also had pushed our forces into areas that had until now, been unaddressed, we also saw a significant increase in combat operations. The events in Fallujah, Najaf and Karbala that occurred right before and just after Easter resulted in a significant
spike in activity as many radicals and terrorists began to take action wherever they could to try to stir up hate within the populace.

The Warlords responded and at one point the comment of our enemies was that “The marines are everywhere.we can’t do anything.” At that point the battalion had been conducting intense 24/7 operations since about 4 April to provide a secure environment for the Shiite Arbaeen celebration (40 days following any Muslim holiday-the traditional mourning period-Muslims celebrate an “Arbaeen").

The terrorists changed tactics to try to stop traffic along the major highways and the battalion responded by refocusing its efforts along the main artery running through our area and shut the enemy activity down there completely. Just as we were getting ready to re-energize our efforts throughout the Qada, we received orders to re-embark the entire battalion, move to a completely different base and then begin operations in an entirely new area. We moved our force from Mahmudiya to “Camp Fallujah” west of Baghdad and immediately began split operations. XXXX Company assisted a Marine Battalion to the Northwest of Fallujah at a place called Saclawejah, XXXX assisted another Marine Battalion along the southern portion of Fallujah and the remainder of the Battalion began operations to the Northeast of Fallujah at a place called Al Kharma (also commonly known as “Bad Kharma").

At any rate, each part of the battalion executed combat operations that included some violent engagements with the enemy and the recovery of significant amounts of terrorist weapons, ammunition and bomb making material.

After only about five days, XXXX performed miracles again and the battalion then moved in force to the southern portion of Fallujah and slammed the back door on the terrorists operating in the city. Almost immediately upon our arrival, the battalion became decisively engaged and built on the situation Easy Company had been developing over the
past five days.

XXXX and XXX, supported by Tanks, Armored Vehicles, 81mm mortars and our superb snipers began to wreak havoc upon the terrorists within Fallujah.

After only 48 hours of fighting, the battalion had succeeded in killing between 100 and 200 of the terrorists, leveled a portion of southern Fallujah and in the words of our Regimental Commander “broke the back” of the resistance in Fallujah. Within hours, the terrorists were at the negotiating table proposing a solution that developed in
to what is now known as the Fallujah Brigade. Throughout those intense days, the battalion performed magnificently and earned a very key place in the history of the Regiment’s history.

As the Fallujah Brigade entered the city, we reluctantly departed our positions and entered what would be our fourth operating area in less than a month. We are now conducting operations east of Fallujah in an area that had, until now, been largely ignored. Our presence alone brought the rats scurrying out to engage. The result of our operations has been the virtual elimination of indirect fire attacks against key
coalition facilities, the development of millions of dollars of civil affairs projects, the disruption of terrorist operations in what was once on of the most volatile areas in Iraq, and, through the superb efforts of XXXX Company and our Counter Intelligence Teams, the discovery of the largest series of weapons caches in Iraq to date!

Throughout the past month, the Marine’s living conditions have varied from a firm base in Mahmudiya where they had access to a gym, internet, showers and two hot meals a day, to fighting holes and 100 degree heat, to bombed out buildings in Fallujah to abandoned
buildings and open fields. Operations have been at once defensive and offensive and have reflected what has become known as the “three block war” where your Marines and Sailors are conducting full up combat on one block, peacekeeping on the next and humanitarian operations on the other. Access to the internet has been spotty at best, but we are now
in a situation where we can rotate platoons back to our current location for showers, hot chow, and a brief period of rest and refit before they re-attack the missions we execute every day.

Snail mail has been regular for the most part given our hobo status, and your cards, letters and packages have been the most welcome thing you can imagine. Mail and the occasional hot shower are the highlights of our existence here and your support through the mail is literally the rock upon which we draw our strength.

Thanks!

Posted By:
Howard Kaloogian
Permalink

I wanted to share the following tributes to Ronald Reagan for you:

Fox News Channel has a very nice tribute story that includes a “Related Information” box with video clips and photographs.  CLICK HERE to view this story and tribute.

Notable quotations from Ronald Reagan in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  CLICK HERE

Listen to the song “I Remember Ronald Reagan” on the Reagan Ranch website - CLICK HERE

View a collection of photographs of President Reagan and some of the memorable times in his administration.  CLICK HERE