Cheney says no plans to close Guantanamo

Suspected terrorists will continue to be held in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said US Vice President Dick Cheney, amid concerns by some fellow Republicans the situation may be counterproductive.

“The important thing here to understand is the people at Guantanamo are bad people,” Cheney said.

“I mean, these are terrorists for the most part. These are people who were captured in the battlefield of Afghanistan or rounded up as part of the al Qaida network.”

Human rights activists and some politicians – mostly Democrats – want the prison closed, highlighting allegations of torture and abuse of detainees. President George Bush has said his administration is “exploring all alternatives” for detaining the 540 prisoners, some of whom have been held for more than three years without charge.

“We’ve already screened the detainees there and released a number, sent them back to their home countries,” Cheney said. “But what’s left is hard core.”

Some Republican politicians say problems over the prison itself and allegations of mistreatment there should cause the administration to consider closing the facility.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska, cited Guantanamo yesterday as one reason the US was “losing the image war around the world”.

“We’ve got a lot of people running around the world who want to do great damage to this country and other nations,” he said. “We do need some kind of facility to hold these people. But this can’t be indefinite. This can’t be a situation where we hold them forever and ever and ever until they die of old age.”

Sen. Mel Martinez, a Florida Republican, said Guantanamo had “become an icon for bad stories and at some point you wonder the cost-benefit ratio”.

“How much do you get out of having that facility there? Is it serving all the purposes you thought it would serve when initially you began it, or can this be done some other way a little better?”

In a statement yesterday, the US Defence Department said it “does not wish to hold detainees longer than necessary, and effective processes are in place to regularly review the status of enemy combatants”.

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans a hearing on the issue on Wednesday. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the panel’s senior Democrat, said the US had created a “legal black hole” at Guantanamo. “We want other countries to adhere to the rule of law. And in Guantanamo, we are not,” he said.

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the detainees had not been abused in Guantanamo.

“We treat these people very well,” said Duncan Hunter, a California Republican. “We supply every one of them with the Koran. We supply them with oil. We supply them with prayer beads. Five times a day on the prison system, we do the call to prayer with arrows pointing in the direction of Mecca and assist them in their prayer ritual.”

Time magazine reported yesterday on an 84-page document detailing the Guantanamo interrogation of one detainee, Mohamed al-Qahtani, who was captured during the war in Afghanistan.

It was learned later he had tried to enter the US in August 2001, but was turned away by an immigration agent at the Orlando airport. Mohamed Atta, ringleader of the September 11 hijackers, was in the airport at the same time, officials have said.

Military intelligence officials at Guantanamo received permission to use intensive interrogation techniques on two prisoners, including al-Qahtani, who were deemed to be important al Qaida figures, the commander of US Southern Command has said.

Time said interrogators used such techniques as dripping water on al-Qahtani’s head; strip-searching him and making him stand nude; and depriving him of sleep. At one point, after receiving fluid intravenously because he was dehydrated, al-Qahtani was told to urinate in his pants by interrogators who refused his request to use the bathroom so they could continue with their questioning, according to the account.

The Defence Department said in response that the interrogation of al-Qahtani “was guided by a very detailed plan and conducted by trained professionals motivated by a desire to gain actionable intelligence, to include information that might prevent additional attacks on America.”

It said al-Qahtani provided valuable information on the logistics of the September 11 attacks and how al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden evaded capture by US forces.