A small but significant tidbit from that ACLU conference call from before. Earlier this week, an anonymous administration official was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that the facility in Thompson, Illinois, where detainees from Guantanamo are to be sent would be "beyond supermax."
I noted at the time that human rights groups have raised concerns about whether or not the kind of 24-hour isolation that characterizes such prisons is torture in and of itself. On the conference call, Chris Anders, senior legislative counsel for the ACLU, said he had spoken to an administration official who assured him that the description of "beyond supermax" referred to "perimeter security" and not 24-hour isolation. This is because presumably, the prison may hold those who have been cleared for release but -- because of Congress -- cannot be released into the United States, as well as those who are being held ostensibly to prevent them from "returning to the battlefield" and haven't committed a crime. Although Anders didn't say this, it will also likely hold those whom we lack strong enough evidence to prosecute in either military commissions or civilian court but don't fit the category of battlefield captures either.
A small but still important clarification. As an unrelated a side note, I'd just like to briefly mention that Glenn Greenwald has an excellent post on the ACLU's recent financial difficulties that is worth reading, particularly if you consider the work they've done on transparency, torture, detention, and warrentless surveillance important. I certainly do.
-- A. Serwer
