Inside Gitmo
Chapter 4: Camp Delta's Mission:
A Work in Progress
Content Summary
- Construction began almost concomitantly with Camp X-Ray, and evolved in a progressive manner, building "lessons learned" into successive camps.
- The complementary but sometimes competing missions of detention and interrogation. How emphasis on the former is easier to document and results of the latter are often highly classified and seldom disclosed.
- The role of General Geoff Miller, his trip to Abu Ghraib and how mis-perceptions of that visit led to allegations of blanket abuse at Guantanamo.
- General Jay Hood takes over at Guantanamo and instituted even more stringent polices for safe, humane care of detainees.
- Difficulties inherent in running a detention/interrogation facility. How Colonel Michael Bumgarner addressed the problems, his relationship with detainee leaders, and how this changed several polices and practices at Guantanamo, including food service, prayer times, and trust. And how this trust was ultimately to be put to the test.
Reprinted end notes from chapter four of the book, with links to source
documents
and other supporting materials
1. Thomas A. Fogarty, “Companies Bid on Rebuilding Iraq,” USA Today,
March 26, 2003.
2. Carol J. Williams, “Guantánamo Prepares for Renovations,” Los Angeles
Times, January 19, 2005.
3. Author interview with Steve Rodriguez, December 2005.
4. Josh White, “Abu Ghraib Tactics Were First Used at Guantánamo,” Washington
Post, July 14, 2005.
5. Guy Taylor, “Terror War, South Front: Interrogators Glean ‘Golden
Threads,’ ” Washington Times, December 21, 2003.
6. Mark Benjamin and Michael Scherer, “A Miller Whitewash,” Salon,
April 25, 2006.
7. Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, “Executive summary of Article 15- 6 investigation
of the 800th Military Police Brigade,” as posted on the MSNBC
website on May 4, 2004.
8. Seymour M. Hersh, “The Gray Zone,” The New Yorker, May 24, 2005.
9. Author interview with Paul Rester, January 2006.
10. R. Jeffrey Smith, “General Is Said to Have Urged Use of Dogs,” Washington
Post, May 26, 2004.
11. Author interview with Paul Rester, January 18, 2006.
12. Josh White, “General Asserts Right on Self- Incrimination in Iraq Abuse
Cases,” Washington Post, January 12, 2006.
13. Author interview with Army Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, December
2005.
14. Josh White, “General Who Ran Guantánamo Bay Retires,” Washington
Post, August 1, 2006.
15. J. D. Leipold, “Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller Retires after 34 Years,”
Army News Service, August 1, 2006.
16. Jackie Northam, “Guantánamo Commander Prepares to Leave Post,” All
Things Considered, NPR, March 14, 2006.
17. Author interview with Steve Rodriguez, 2005.
18. Author interview with Paul Rester, January 18, 2006.
19. “Sex Scandal at Guantánamo,” CBS News, March 11, 2005.
20. Alexandra Olsen (AP), “Guantánamo Officers Leave Without Appeal,”
Newsday, March 26, 2005.
21. Author interview with Colonel Michael Bumgarner, January 2006.
22. Ibid.
23. Author interview with Colonel Wade Dennis, JDG commander, December
2006.
24. It is all too common to hear military people conducting operations involving
non- Americans say things like, “He’s really smart. He speaks
good English,” and “You can depend on him, he knows English.”
25. Bumgarner interviews, June 2005 and January 2006.
26. Author electronic mail exchange with Colonel Michael Bumgarner, February
14, 2007.
27. Interview with Guantánamo interrogator who requested anonymity, December
2006.
28. Tim Golden,“The Battle for Guantánamo,” New York Times, September
17, 2006.
29. Bumgarner interviews, June 2005 and January 2006. |
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Chapter Summaries & Source Documents
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 "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
 "Our new president should read it — twice — and take its truth-telling to heart." — Ralph Peters, columnist and author of Looking For Trouble
 "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
 "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
 "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
 "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.
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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