A rchive Date
[ 27-01-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/corbella.html
Shut up and pass the bagels
Geneva Convention states prisoners should have access to full salad bar
By LICIA CORBELLA - Calgary Sun
January 27, 2002
Froot Loops for breakfast. And the Americans claim they aren't torturing their al-Qaida prisoners? How barbaric!
And if the pro-Taliban fighters being held at Camp X-ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba aren't partial to that cheery multi-coloured cereal, then they are served bagels and cream cheese instead.
The outrage here, of course is, their bagels and cream cheese are not accompanied by smoked salmon and capers.
How uncouth and uncivilized! What heartless sods those Americans are. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Canadian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, if they had any gumption at all, would stand up for what's right and refuse to turn over any al-Qaida or Taliban fighters to their American commanders and insist that these Prisoners of War be sent to Ferndale Institution in Mission, B.C., a minimum-security jail dubbed "Club Fed" because of its nine-hole golf course, cottages, colour televisions, phones and in-house grocery store.
The grocery store and golf course are particularly nice amenities for these weary fighting men because that way they could at least head out to one of the sand traps, dig themselves a cave and then cook themselves some rice (with a hearty handful of sand thrown in to remind them of home) instead of being forced to eat the kind of crap their American captors are forcing upon them.
Lunch at Guantanamo Bay consists of something like beef or vegetable stew, garlic bagel chips, peanuts, granola bars and raisins.
Dinner can consist of red beans, white rice, sunflower seeds, fruit like apples and oranges and white bread.
It is an outrage!
Where is the United Nations when you need them? Where are the defenders of human rights?
That these men are eating better than virtually anyone in Afghanistan has for the past 20 years, not to mention many American and Canadian children, should be ignored entirely. That misses the point - completely.
The point is where are the Honey Nut Cheerios and Cap'n Crunch?
What about the Geneva Convention? After all, Section 436b, subsection 22iii, appendix XZ11 states that: "anything less than a full salad bar (with at least five choices of salad dressing) and a buffet prime rib dinner, will be considered cruel and unusual punishment for any prisoners of war held in Western democracies."
But no. Those dastardly Americans give them raisins, granola bars and stew.
It is difficult for me to continue to write this because the tears are stinging my eyes.
These al-Qaida detainees are also shackled hand and foot, blindfolded and prohibited from speaking to any of their fellow captives.
It is beyond comprehension why such severe and inhumane treatment is necessary for these men whose first words upon capture and after declaring they would "kill all Americans" was to ask for a Qur'an, which they were all given post haste.
After all, Islam, as we have been told over and over and over and over again, is a religion of peace.
Unshackle those men immediately! They have peace on their minds.
Instead, when they are blindfolded, their captors help to point them in the direction of their beloved Mecca so they can pray in the prescribed way five times a day.
It is an international scandal that their very own prayer rugs were not flown in for them.
Somebody said the other day, "we" (meaning the West) "are the good guys, we should act like it."
Indeed we should, and that, at the very least means Quaker Harvest Crunch should be made immediately available.
What he really means of course, is we should be seen to act like the good guys. That the Americans allow cameras and Red Cross officials into Camp X-ray to look around and then allow photographs to be wired across the world shows their shamelessness.
If they were smart, they'd dress these prisoners up in tails, instead of those humiliating orange coveralls, set them down at a long table with white linen and silver and wait on them hand and foot, preparing for them the food they cherish and are accustomed to - flat bread and a few emaciated sand-filled chick peas on dirty rice.
Only the finest china should be used, that being the norm in most Afghanistan caves.
Then let the world in to take photos.
But just think of the outrage at home - in the barrios in Los Angeles, or in Harlem, New York, where the vegetable of the day is often ketchup and where a grand banquet is a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
That these prisoners are forced to sleep on foam mattresses under outside enclosures is abominable.
After all, it is 30C - or 86 F - in Cuba right now.
These men are used to freezing conditions in their caves. They need ice slabs upon which to sleep.
To not provide these things undoubtedly leaves the West open to a full-blown jihad. We can call it the Froot Loops holy war.
Negotiations should begin in earnest right away.
Rice Krispies could be offered as a bargaining tool. We could bring in the top CEOs of Kellogg Co. or Post cereals to help out.
That could be the lucky charm - or rather, the Lucky Charms, with marshmallows included of course.
Licia Corbella, editor of the Calgary Sun, can be reached at 403-250-4129 or by e-mail at licia.corbella@calgarysun.com. Her columns appear Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Letters to the editor should be sent to callet@sunpub.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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