Libya and Camp X Ray

You probably haven't heard the story of the five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian who have been sentenced to death in Libya. After an HIV outbreak in Benghazi hospital that infected over 400 children in 1998, the Libyan government arrested all foreign workers at the hospital. Eventually, they settled on charging the six.

The amount of hysteria Libya has responded with might be funny ... if human lives weren't at stake.

Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has made a spectacle of himself, accusing the US of releasing the virus after experiments on Haitians ran out of control. He insists that the infection was a plot by the CIA or Moussad against the people of his country.

Instead of recognizing the true cause, tragically underfunded and equipped hospitals strangled for decades by US sanctions, Gaddafi has instead chosen to live in fantasy land.

When some of the women held reported that they had been beaten and raped by their guards, the Libyan government responded by leveling further charges against them. Slander.

Despite pleas from around the globe and offers by the British to release a Libyan prisoner in exchange for the nurses, Gaddafi remains unmoved. Meanwhile, the nurses continue to fight for their freedom, filing an appeal that could eventually lead to their release.

Now that you're caught up on that, let's talk about Camp X-Ray.

Better known as Guantanamo, the detention center for men and children collected by the US government accused of either being terrorists or aiding them.

Those Bulgarian nurses in ass-backward Islamic Libya? Their on their Nteenth appeal (I mean really, after three who keeps track?). But you will be happy to know that no such Amnesty will be granted to the 435-ish potential sworn enemies of the United States. Because on Tuesday, a US court decided that Guantanamo Detainees Can't Challenge Cases. This adds to the list:

Due Process for Detainees Lacking Under New Gitmo Panel
Judge Rules Gitmo Detainees Have No Rights
US Military Wants War Crimes Compound for Gitmo Detainees
Bush: Guantanamo Detainees Have No Rights in US Courts
Guilty Until Confirmed Guilty
Guantanamo Defense Lawyer Forced Out of Navy
Guantanamo Detainees May Remain Indefinitely
Bush seeks to extend Guantánamo procedures to American citizens

and of course:

Pentagon Confirms Use of Guantanamo Sex Tactics

Although no charges have ever, ever been filed against the prisoners, no evidence has ever been made public of their crimes, countless innocents were jailed in vengeful grudge settlements, and nothing good can come from the prison we are going to refuse them the rights extended by such champions of human rights as Libya?

Libyan hysteria. American hysteria. Libyan torture. American torture. I guess the only thing that separates us from the barbarians in other nations is who extends the most civil rights. Because as Robert Ingersoll said, "Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself."

Which means it's not looking so good for US. Now Halliburton, that's another story...

~Lila Schow
Because Responsible Citizens Clean Up After Their Government
http://goodusgov.org/