An official of Amnesty International, Jumana Musa, dismissed the visits as "this little Congressional show and tell." Ms. Musa said the statements did not address what she called the inadequate investigation of reported abuses.
"Whether or not people are being fed orange chicken," Ms. Musa said, "does not get at the heart of the issue."
The above is from David D. Kirkpatrick's "Senators Laud Treatment of Detainees in Guantanamo" in this morning's New York Times. That's right, kids, it's time for another round of Operation Happy Talk so gather round the game board.
Among the players are Ron Wyden (Oregon), Ben Nelson (Nebraska), Jim Bunning (Kentucky) Johnny Isakson (Georgia) and the fittingly named Michael D. Crapo (Idaho). Rolling the dice and moving their tiny plastic figures clad in orange jump suits around the game board, they announce, "Hey this isn't so bad!"
Oh look, Nelson just landed on "Big Surprise." He's drawing a card. What does it say?
Lucky you! You've just been John Walker Lind-ed! You're strapped to a gurney, blind folded while you're told cheerful, upbeat things like, "We can kill you at anytime and no one will know!"
Oh look little Johnny just landed on a square. "Orange Chicken tonight!" Yippee!
Crapo doesn't look so happy. In fact he looks rather glum and this without one of the players having made the obvious joke about his last name. What gives, Crapo?
Uh oh, he drew a card that told him he was Mr. Ait Idir:
While Mr Ait Idir sat on the floor as instructed, the officer sprayed chemical irritant directly into Mr Ait Idir's face. Two or three guards immediately entered the cell while he was lying on the floor. One forced Mr Ait Idir's body onto the steel floor of the cell and jumped on his back, using his knees to pound Mr Ait Idir’s body into the floor. The second guard did the same thing. While they had Mr Ait Idir pinned, the guards secured his hands behind his back. He was carried out and thrown onto the crushed stones that surround the cell building. While Mr Ait Idir was lying bound on the stones, an IRF member jumped onto the side of Mr Ait Idir's head with his full body weight, causing extreme pain. Another IRF member climbed onto Mr Ait Idir's back, and while on his back, the IRF members twisted his middle finger and thumb on his right hand almost to the point of breaking. Two of his knuckles were dislocated, and he screamed in pain. His middle finger has almost no strength now. He requested and was refused any medical treatment for the permanent injuries inflicted by the guards. Upon information and belief, as a result of that beating, Mr Aid Idir suffered a stroke. Shortly after that incident, one half of his face became paralyzed. He was in pain. He could not eat normally; food and drink leaked from his non-functioning mouth. Guards teased him because of his condition. Despite visible impairment and his request to go to the hospital, he did not receive medical treatment for ten days.
Cheer up Crapo, it's just a game, right? It's not like you have to live under these conditions, you're just passing through.
Crapo is mumbling and griping now. 'Bout how he wanted to play Lyndie England but they didn't have that game token! Now Crapo, she wasn't at Guantanamo. I know it's hard to believe because everything that happens is a "few individuals" and not "systematic." Sure the torture seems similar from prison to prison, but it's a coincidence.
Besides, it's already time to put away the game board and get ready for the flight home. Hurry up, now kids and stay with your assigned buddy. Remember what happened to that Dick Durbin when he lost his buddy. He got put on the torture jet to Pakistan where, apparently, they removed his spine before allowing him to return to the United States.
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