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Inside Gitmo
Chapter 11: Meet the American Military

Content Summary

  • Who are the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines serving at Guantanamo? Are they brutal torturers and abusers as you have been led to believe? Here you'll see the true story of these men and women serving under conditions you and I would find repugnant, and doing it without complaint.

  • Would you stand quietly by while a cup full of feces, urine, semen, vomit, and spit was hurled in your face? Would you have the self-discipline not to retaliate when a female medic had her face smashed against a cell door repeatedly by a detainee? These men and women do that and more.

  • Learn of the extraordinary dedication these troops bring to the mission, and how many are silent on return because of the adverse publicity and flagrant lies told about them by activists and compliant media.

  • Realize that the levels of abuse directed against these soldiers and sailors - who are not permitted to express even anger or frustration - lead to off-the-charts levels of PTSD and emotional disturbance.

  • Watch them perform and be proud of the dedication, team work, and self-sacrifice they bring to the mission on a daily basis, without expectation of recognition or reward.

Reprinted end notes from chapter eleven of the book, with links to source
documents and other supporting materials

1. Author interviews, January 2006.

2. Author interview with Guantánamo Base security personnel, July 2005.

3. Much of the material for this section was extracted from Gordon Cucullu, “Gitmo Jive,” American Enterprise Magazine, September 2005.

4. Author interview with former JDG offi cer who requested anonymity, February 2006.

5. Donna Baptiste, series of author interviews via e-mail, 2008.

6. United Nations, Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Chairperson of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, February 15, 2006.

 

 

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Chapter Summaries & Source Documents

The chapter summaries and source document libraries as based on the end notes within Inside Gitmo are currently under construction. They will be completed by the book's January 27th release date.

Preface and Introduction
Guantanamo, the Myth and Reality

Chapter 1
Why Guantanamo?


Chapter 2
Muhammad al Qahtani:
A Terrorist Case Study


Chapter 3 
In the Beginning: Camp X-Ray

Chapter 4 
Camp Delta's Mission:
A Work in Progress


Chapter 5
Meet the "Foreign Fighters"

Chapter 6
Maximum Security: Camps I, II, and III

Chapter 7 
Compliance Rewarded:
Inside the Camp IV Wire


Chapter 8
Segregation and Supervision:
Camps V and VI


Chapter 9
Camps Echo, Iguana, and
a "Secret" CIA Installation


Chapter 10
Daily Life at Gitmo

Chapter 11
Meet the American Military

Chapter 12
Hunger Strikes: Asymmetrical
Warfare in Action


Chapter 13
The Value of Intelligence

Chapter 14
The Future of Guantanamo:
Critiques and Recommendations

 

Join the Inside Gitmo discussion group

The Inside Gitmo email-based discussion group on Guantanamo's detention facility is intended to encourage rational, civil discussion of the myriad issues and problems associated with the facility, the detainees, and the staff.

Note that in the coming months I will be participating in dozens of radio shows across the country, and asked to speak on Guantanamo topics in a variety of different venues.

Rather than operating in a vacuum, the questions, comments, thoughts and exchanges from a wide variety of different people will enrich my perspectives and understanding of what others think and believe about Guantanamo.

Journalists, lawmakers, analysts, students, law enforcement professionals, and foreign affairs experts are encouraged to join.

If you would like to participate -- or just listen in -- then click here to join us.

What Others Are Saying

Monica Crowley photo"I've also been 'inside GITMO,' and Cucullu's riveting account shows why we've been safer with it and why we may soon regret being without it."— Monica Crowley, host of the Monica Crowley Show and author of Nixon in Winter 

Ralph Peters photo"Our new president should read it — twice — and take its truth-telling to heart." — Ralph Peters, columnist and author of Looking For Trouble

Victor Davis Hanson photo"Every relevant military and civilian official should give Cucullu's analysis a fair hearing." — Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of An Autumn of War

Oliver North photo"An explosive expos of what's really been happening - 'inside the wire' at Guantanamo. Gordon Cucullu - with his Special Forces background, thorough research and extensive visits to Gitmo - knows more about the now-infamous detention facility than any 'outsider.' This book is a must-read for all who care about how we protect ourselves from those who are dying to kill us." — Oliver North, LtCol USMC (Ret.), host of War Stories on FOX News Channel & NYT bestselling author of American Heroes in the Fight Against Radical Islam

Frank Gaffney photo"Inside Gitmo is a book of incalculable importance. It lays bare the myths and the stakes involved in the campaign to shut down a facility that any objective reader must conclude is vital to our national security. Every policy-maker in Washington and every citizen across America should study this books brilliant first-hand reporting and its alarming findings." Frank Gaffney, Jr, President, Center for Security Policy and author of War Footing

Douglas Feith photo"Gordon Cucullu has written a lively work of history that fulfills its promise to explode 'the myths of Guantanamo Bay.' Anyone who wants to speak authoritatively about the Bush administration's detainee policies has to read this book." Douglas J. Feith, senior fellow, Hudson Institute, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and author of War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism

The "Living Book" Concept

The "Living Book" Concept

This companion web site to Inside Gitmo was conceived and executed by Avery Johnson in collaboration with Chuck Martin. As a highly skilled, experienced researcher, Avery imposes strict demands on her work and that of author's with whom she works. Every stated fact must be backed by hard documentation. Hence readers find 524 citations in Inside Gitmo from a multiplicity of sources. Avery took that as "a good start."

Her concept - that you can interact with on these pages - is that with an issue as dynamic and multi-faceted as Guantanamo is too large to be captured only in a work of print. In order to complement and supplement the final work so that readers may continue to be apprised of developments on this critical subject and dig deeper into subjects that interest them, it is necessary and valuable to take advantage of technology.

Illustrative of this concept is that this site functions as a repository for all original documents used in the book as well as providing additional sources for continued research into the subject. For readers seeking context for specific passages referenced in the book, the site provides access to the original report, news article, book, or other source quoted. By so doing we are able to circumvent necessary space limitations in print by augmenting the book with electronic back-up.

Additionally, the site goes where print cannot: it provides an email based discussion group, videos, updated news articles, a blog, podcasts, and other resources. It highlights new developments, steers readers to newly published works, and offers visitors the opportunity to purchase relevant works from the site.

I think that this concept - a continually updated, vibrant companion website for a published book with complete references included - ought to be the new gold standard in publishing and strongly urge new and proven writers and authors to advantage themselves of these services.

Avery Johnson and her team can be contacted at avery.j@comcast.net.

About the Author

I'm a retired Green Beret lieutenant colonel, Vietnam War veteran and career officer, and now a writer. After serving more than thirteen years in East Asia I was sent on assignments in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and eventually worked Korea and East Asian affairs at both the Pentagon and Department of State.

My many adventures since then have included raising llamas and alpacas in upstate New York, serving as the Executive Director of the Korea Society in Manhattan, working as an international marketing VP for General Electric in Asia, and traveling within corners of the world that few have had the privilege of experiencing.

In April-May 2008 I spent a month embedded with Military Police units in Iraq. Stories from my trip are posted at supportamericansoldiers.com — a book about what I saw and learned is also in the making.

My first book Separated at Birth: How North Korea became the Evil Twin was published in September 2004.


Author's Notes

Many of the articles and works referenced in the book Inside Gitmo contain highly controversial, often inflamatory, and frequently inaccurate information. I cited these works for very specific reasons - to extract quotes, show contravailing points of view, and, in cases where factual information is contained in the piece, to use sources that may be intellectually opposed to Guantanamo for balance.

Use of these varied references does not imply that I agree with most, all, or any of the content. They are used for the reasons noted above, and ought to be read in context with the entire book for complete understanding.


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