As far as I am able to determine, the Gitmo detainees are not covered by the provisions of the Geneva Convention as set down for soldiers. While they do have rights, they are severly limited.

This said, their treatment is much better than they could have expected in their own countries. They have adequate food, shelter, clothing and medical care and their religious beliefs are, for the most part, respected. They get better food than the troops who guard them.

If you want a whiff of hell, spend some time in a Mexican jail, or one in Turkey or the old Soviet Union.

Terrorists, and those who collaborate with them, have no rights. The only reason to allow them to live is to try to get intel about their organization and it's plans.

The ONLY reason.

I don't claim that all those at Gitmo are or were terrorists, but until we know for sure, I say it's better to keep them locked up than to let them go free to commit more acts of terror.

I haven't kept up with the numbers, but in the Senate hearings that are (were) being held, it was reported that a significant number of those who had been re-patriated have been involved in attacks on troops and govt. installations in Afghanistan in the past year or so. This is known because they were either KIA or captured in the commission of those acts.

As far as conditions at Gitmo are concerned, we could have incarcerated them at a facility in Alaska.

Foolestroupe, go read some history before you try to compare Gitmo to a gulag. This is sound-bite sloganeering; long on hype and short on fact. It's mildly humerous to anyone of average intellect or who hasn't been convinced by anti-US rhetoric that the US is EVIL and always wrong.

But it IS incorect and it DOES send the wrong message.

RichM, the fight against world terrorism is everyones problem. Do you honestly think that those who want to turn the world into an Islamic theocracy will stop at the Canadian border if they ever manage to bring the US down?

If you do, I've got some "waterfront" property in Florida that you might be interested in.

troll