Better to let these terrorist pigs starve themselves to death.

The U.S. military authorities have taken tougher measures to force-feed detainees engaged in hunger strikes at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, after concluding that some of them were determined to commit suicide to protest their indefinite confinement, military officials have said.

In recent weeks, the officials said, guards have begun strapping recalcitrant detainees into "restraint chairs," sometimes for hours a day, to feed them through tubes and prevent them from deliberately vomiting afterward.

Detainees who refuse to eat have also been placed in isolation for extended periods to keep them from being pressured by other hunger strikers, the officials said.

The measures appear to have had significant effects. The chief military spokesman at Guantánamo, Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Martin, said Wednesday that the number of detainees on hunger strike had dropped, from 84 at the end of December to only 4.

Some officials said the new actions reflected concern at Guantánamo and the Pentagon that the protests were becoming difficult to control and that the death of one or more prisoners could intensify international criticism of the center.

Martin said the forced feeding was carried out "in a humane and compassionate manner," and only when necessary to keep the prisoners alive. He said in a statement that "a restraint system to aid detainee feeding" was being used. He declined to answer detailed questions about the restraint chairs.

Sounds inhumane to me – better to let them carry out their suicides. Not only is that more humane, but it will also cleanse the world in the process.

Posted by: Greg at 02:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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