Camp X-Ray
| Camp X-Ray | |
|---|---|
| Part ofNaval Station Guantanamo Bay | |
| Guantánamo BayinCuba | |
 Camp X-Ray under construction during January 2002 | |
  Camp X-Ray | |
| Coordinates | 19°56′18″N75°05′49″W/ 19.9382°N 75.0970°W |
| Type | US military temporary detention facility |
| Site information | |
| Operator | US Southern Command |
| Controlled by |
|
| Condition | Closed |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1994 |
| Built by | Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133(2001–2002) |
| In use | 1994–1996 2001–2002 |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
|
Camp X-Raywas a temporary detention facility at theGuantanamo Bay detention campofJoint Task Force 160on board theUnited States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. The first twenty detainees arrived at Guantanamo on 11 January 2002.[1][2] It was namedCamp X-Raybecause various temporary camps used to house Cuban and Haitian migrants in the 80s and 90s on board the station were named usingNATO phonetic Alpha bet.The legal status ofdetaineesat the camp, as well as government processes for trying their cases, has been a significant source of controversy; several landmark cases have been determined by theUnited States Supreme Court.
As of 29 April 2002, Camp X-Ray was closed and all prisoners were transferred toCamp Delta.
Background
[edit]
Camp X-Ray was originally built duringOperation Sea Signalto house "excludables" in the mid-1990s when Fidel Castro allowed any Cuban wishing to do so, to cross through the Cuban-operated minefields and enter the base. Excludables were held in Camp X-ray near Post 37 before being sent back to Cuba. Excludables included troublemakers from the regular camps, where the United States was processing Cuban Asylum Seekers (CAS) for emigration to the United States. The US government was at the time allowed access to Cuban records to process these people. Over 100,000 CAS were processed in the mid-1990s and allowed to enter the United States.
During theWar on terror,beginning in the fall of 2001 after the9/11 attacks,the US reestablished the camp for housing captured combatants. To get the camp up and operationalNaval Mobile Construction Battalion 133sent a detachment that had been working atRoosevelt Roads Naval Station.The supervision and care of these detainees at Camp X-Ray was handled byJoint Task Force 160(JTF-160), while interrogations were conducted byJoint Task Force 170(JTF-170).[3][4][5][6]JTF-160 was under the command ofMarineBrigadier GeneralMichael R. Lehnertuntil March 2002, when he was replaced by Brigadier GeneralRick Baccus.Since Camp X-Ray's closure and the subsequent opening ofCamp Delta,JTF-160 and 170 have been combined into Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO).
In accordance with U.S. military andGeneva Conventiondoctrine on prisoner treatment, soldiers guarding the detainees were housed in tents with living conditions "not markedly different" from that of the prisoners while the permanent facilities at Camp Delta were under construction.[7]This camp was one of several locations managed by the United States where prisoners had suffered torture by US soldiers and agents in relation to interrogation.[8][9]
Dick Cheney,as the then Vice President in 2002, said:
Prisoners could be detained until the end of the natural conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.[10]
Forensic examination
[edit]
According toCarol Rosenberg,writing for theMiami Herald,Camp X-Ray was visited by a court-ordered forensicFBIteam in November 2009.[11]The team spent a week photographing the camp and searching for evidence of abuse of prisoners.[11]
Brandon Neely
[edit]Camp X-Ray guardBrandon Neelylater admitted throwing prisoners to the ground. In 2009, he tracked two inmates down and apologized for his treatment of them, saying that he still felt guilty.[12]Neely also became involved with the organizationIraq Veterans Against the War.[13]
See also
[edit]- This Is Camp X-Ray,a UK art installation based on Camp X-Ray.
- Camp X-Ray,an American independent drama film based on Camp X-Ray.
References
[edit]
- ^ Jim Garamone (15 January 2002)."50 Detainees now at Gitmo; All Treated Humanely".Department of Defense.Archived fromthe originalon 8 July 2009.Retrieved29 July2009.
- ^ Victoria Clarke (15 January 2002)."DoD News Briefing – ASD PA Clarke and Rear Adm. Stufflebeem".Department of Defense.Archived fromthe originalon 29 July 2009.Retrieved29 July2009.
- ^ Stephen Robinson (22 March 2009)."The Least Worst Place: How Guantanamo Became the World's Most Notorious Prison by Karen Greenberg".The Times.London.Retrieved23 March2009.
- ^ Karen J. Greenberg(25 January 2009)."When Gitmo Was (Relatively) Good".The Washington Post.Retrieved18 March2009.
- ^ Karen J. Greenberg(March 2009).The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo's First 100 Days.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-537188-8.Retrieved18 March2009.
- ^ Karen J. Greenberg(26 January 2009)."Outlook: When Gitmo Was (Relatively) Good".The Washington Post.Retrieved18 March2009.
- ^"Interview: Thomas Berg".PBS Frontline.18 October 2005.Retrieved1 September2008.
- ^Daniel McGrory (2 October 2004)."Camp X-Ray Briton tells of his 'torture'".London: Times Newspapers Ltd. (UK).Retrieved28 March2009.
- ^Paisley Dodds (9 October 2003)."Dark Age torture at Camp X-ray".Irish Examiner.Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2005.Retrieved28 March2009.
- ^"No POW rights for Cuba prisoners".BBC News. 27 January 2002.
- ^ab Carol Rosenberg(15 November 2009)."U.S. plans for end of Guantánamo prison camps".Miami Herald.Archived fromthe originalon 16 November 2009.
- ^Lee, Gavin (12 January 2010)."Guantanamo guard reunited with ex-inmates".BBC News.Retrieved28 April2010.
- ^Stelter, Brian (11 January 2010)."Guantánamo Reunion, by Way of BBC".The New York Times.Retrieved28 April2010.