Customer Reviews

The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo's First 100 Days

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I come to this book from a very different standpoint to that of Karen Greenberg because I have served in the armed forces, and I am a practising lawyer.

For anyone involved in law enforcement and custodial systems, certain rules must be followed in a civilised society- they weren't here.

Greenberg, from her perspective, outlines (with edge) the initial phase of this 'custodial operation' beginning with the concept of confinement which gives the public a rest from these alleged terrorists' acivities, to outright torture...without trial.

The 'T' word (torture, not trial) must be used sparingly but the evidence which Greenberg assembles from observers and participants between December 21, 2001 to March 31, 2002 is compelling...and damning.

The book makes disturbing reading, especially for Obama supporters who now see some idea of the measure of responsibility and the task set for the new President to make amends.

There is only one conclusion to this book- it mustn't happen again. And how many times have we heard that before?

The title 'The Least Worst Place' is just the start of the twisting and the bending of policies which Allies and supporters had trustingly placed in Bush's administration.

To say the US has lost its moral bearings with this camp is strong but just when Greenberg provides excellent footnotes to justify her assertions albeit it from her left wing perspective which I have no quarrel with here as this is not about 'left' or 'right' wing to me.

This book should be read to remind people of how not to behave when we are the 'good guys' for fear of turning us into the 'bad guys'...which is exactly what has happened with Guantanamo.

As a lawyer, my basic creed, like that of saving life with a doctor, is to try people fairly, telling them what they are accused of- not to lock people up without trial and throw away the key whilst the inmates suffer serious violence. The behaviour at this prison was not acceptable and I find no words in mitigation.

I am glad Karen Greenberg has written this book- she ends it with 'what goes around comes around'- the conclusion of the man on the Clapham Omnibus is that the circle must be stopped in the 21st century, and there are no excuses in a civilised society.

The creation of Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo, was in haste. There was no administrative consensus as to the status of detainees, and hence no standard for how they were to be treated while in detention. Soldiers trained to guard the camp, and contractors employed to build it, were advised only that the detainees would be "the worst of the worst"--hardened Taleban/al-Qaida terrorists, with totally fanatical zeal to kill.

After the logistical achievement of building a maximum security detention center in so little time (2 months) the first detainees arrived from Bagram AFB, Afghanistan: in most cases the staff at Camp X-Ray knew nothing about them: in most cases, even their language was a mystery (few spoke Arabic). The circumstances of their capture or their personal effects were unknown to anyone, and the Pentagon refused to support any policy measures that would pin down their legal status. The staff initially sought to create a detention facility that would comply with the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

After the first few months, the priorities of the Guantanamo Base were changed. Initially left on its own, in legal and administrative limbo, the local staff had struggled to find the appropriate balance of control and humane treatment for prisoners. In March '02, however, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took a direct interest in the center and its ability to validate his narrative of the Global War on Terror. At all times, officers in the chain of command were eager to prove their usefulness to the nation by jumping through whatever hoops Rumsfeld held out.

This is a story about Military men and women who tried to make the best out of a bad situation. This is also the story of a Government trying to get information from detainees that may or may not have had any useful information on terrorist plots in the wake of 9/11. This is the story of men who tried to uphold the Geneva Convention only to find out the people high up in Government had a very different idea of how Guantanamo should be run.

The Author Karen Greenberg details the trials and tribulations behind Guantanamo and how it came to be. Guantanamo became Guantanamo because the military didn't want to house the "detainees" on American or foreign soil because there would be some non military oversight and the Government wanted to conduct interrogations and by free of oversight. Guantanamo is unique because of its location and the fact that there would be no oversight by the Cuban Government. When they were trying to figure out where to house this detainee's Guantanamo in the beginning was an after thought

Greenberg discusses what the military went through to convert Guantanamo from nothing to a make shift detention center in a short amount of time. Getting the right people in place for this operation, making sure that at least the bare essentials would be available, food, clothing, housing, dealing with language, social and religious barriers etc. for not only the hundreds of incoming soldiers but the detainee's as well. This was a monumental operation.

Greenberg also details what life was like at Guantanamo for the detainee's and the military men and women working there in the early days of the operation. She discusses how several different legal barriers where overcome. Greenberg describes how the decisions were made on the ground that conflicted with decisions made by people in Washington and who was involved in those decisions.

Greenberg interviewed a lot of people that were on the ground at Guantanamo in the beginning. Her research for Guantanamo the first 100 days is extensive. Everything she details in the book has a time line to help the reader understand the sequence of events and the decision making behind those events.

Greenberg does an excellent job of presenting the subject matter in an unbiased way. Guantanamo the first one hundred days is an excellent book; it really details the confusion within the Government as to how to deal with the detainee's. Very thoroughly researched and well worth the price.

Karen Greenberg has done the best kind of contemporary nonfiction, discovering a history we did not know we had. We all know what Guantanamo Bay has become; Greenberg shows exactly how it began, and how the good intentions of honorable people were subverted.

In The Least Worst Place, Greenberg presents a detailed history, in strikingly readable format, of the way in which one of the nation's most embarrassing mistakes came to be.

From Greenberg's description the reader discovers, first, that the detention mission in Guantanamo did not have to devolve into indignity (although what caused it to do so, namely the creation of an unlawful interrogation facility, may have been the intent of its creators from the very beginning); second, that what caused it to devolve was the hijacking of a military mission away from the professional military leadership by civilian leadership; third, the efforts of on-the-ground, military leadership to maintain a lawful, upstanding detention facility; and fourth, the efforts and manipulations by the administration to undermine the ability of the military to do so.

Greenberg's book is vital not only to an understanding of the mistakes and abuses of the past administration, but in order to understand how those mistakes could have been avoided, how they can be in the future, and what about our system works well. While many may find the history outlined in this book to be a source of anger and frustration, it may also be a source of optimism; about the professionalism that can be, and historically has been, created in our military, and about the possibility for our country to handle war and detention in a manner that we can be proud of.

To address these issues, The Least Worst Place follows not only the facts but also the people involved. Greenberg's description of the marines, soldiers and JAG lawyers at Guantanamo makes the book interesting and easy to read. I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone with any interest in the subject whatsoever.

This book was a very interesting read on what took place to turn a relatively sleepy Naval base into a prison for the worst of the worst. The authors access to high ranking officers seemed pretty impressive. Some of the issues faced in opening the prison give perspective on the issues facing the prison today.

In an attempt to look beyond the camera flashes, sound bits, and video clips, Karen Greenberg's "The Least Worst Place covers the oft forgotten humanity of Guantanamo Bay. The senualization of the words: "torture", "terrorists" and "enemy combatants" gives way to a compelling tale of how our service men and women found themselves torn between righteous codes of conduct and initiatives from higher ups. Similar to David Halberstam's "The Children", Karen Greenberg's "The Least Worst Place" focuses on the characters and their personal journeys to tell the story beyond newspaper headlines and evening broadcasts. An edgy and sharp piece of writing, Greenberg's "The Least Worst Place" brilliantly explores the "how" and "why" of Guantanamo, leaving the "when", "what", and "where" to less experienced media stations.

VERY INTERESTING AND INSIGHTFUL AS IT "CAPTURES THE MOMENT" IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 9/11.....EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE REMINDED OF THE CONFUSION, CONCERENS AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH A VITUALLY UNPRECEDENTED NATIONAL SECURITY CRISIS OF ENORMOUS PROPORTIONS...."LEAST-WORST PLACE"
GOES A LONG WAY TOWARDS ACCOMPLISHING THAT.....EVERYONE EXPRESSING A VIEW TODAY ABOUT WHAT WAS DONE BACK THEN SHOULD INVEST A FEW HOURS IN FIRST READING THIS UNIQUE BOOK.....WELL DONE

Greenburg did an excellent job of presenting the facts on Guantanamo
and how some of the military (Lehnert) were humanitarian.

Karen takes us on an enlightening and visceral journey to Guantanamo in this highly informative and enjoyable read. 5 stars!