Retiring Marine general calls Guantanamo prison bad move

[sabra]

Source: Union-Tribune

CAMP PENDLETON — Saying the United States lost the moral high ground, the outgoing Marine general who built and ran the Guantanamo Bay military prison in early 2002 said he quickly concluded that it was the wrong path and that the cells he constructed should be emptied.

Retiring Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert, now commander of seven Marine bases on the West Coast, also said bringing the remaining prisoners to Camp Pendleton — something the White House has discussed — is a bad idea because it could threaten the base's main job of training Marines.

...

In early 2002, then-Brig. Gen. Lehnert was commander of Joint Task Force 160, the unit given the job of quickly building prison cells at the U.S. base in Cuba for “enemy combatants” captured in Afghanistan. It was meant to be a short-lived job, and Lehnert left after 100 days.

“I came to the conclusion very soon that this probably wasn't the right way to go,” Lehnert, 58, said during a media round table yesterday. “Probably before I left Guantanamo, I was of the opinion it needed to go away as soon as possible.”

...


“If he thought that at the time, why didn't he do anything about it?” asked Colby Vokey, a former Marine defense attorney who served at Camp Pendleton before retiring last year.

Lehnert said he made his views known through “the appropriate chain of command.”

Read more: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/25/retiring-marine-general-calls-guantanamo-prison-ba/

[bertman]

1. The General is to be commended for his comments even though they are after the fact.

He did what he was supposed to do and let his superiors know what he thought.

Of course, we know that the orders came down from the top, so his superiors couldn't do jack shit either.

Rec.

[wuushew]

2. Regular non-gulag Gitmo needs closing also

why do we have a major military base on Cuban soil?

[bemildred]

3. Props for the General.

:thumbsup: