Le Vernet Internment Camp, or Camp Vernet, was a concentration camp[1] originally built in June 1918 to house French colonial troops serving in World War I but when hostlities ceased it was used to hold German and Austrian prisoners of war.
From 1942, Le Vernet became a transit camp for detained Jews.[1]. In June 1944, the last internees were evacuated and deported to the Dachau concentration camp in the "Ghost Train". In total, about 40,000 persons of 58 nationalities were interned in the camp; mainly men but also women and children.
Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:22am EST (click title to entry - thank you)
BERLIN, Jan 24 (Reuters) - France has drafted a plan for European Union countries to accept 60 detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp that U.S. President Barack Obama wants to close, German magazine Der Spiegel said on Saturday.
The foreign ministry in Paris refused to comment on the report, which said France had sent the plans to European capitals before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
European governments, which have for years called for the camp to be closed, are under pressure to help Obama find a home for some of the approximately 245 remaining detainees.
Der Spiegel said France had proposed EU countries offer homes to about 60 inmates who were deemed innocent but would risk persecution or torture if sent to their home countries....
The USA military needs to examine carefully the reassignment of the detainees at Gitmo. They need to actually assess their crimes, if any, and decide whether they should stand trial in a 'civil court' for the murders of September 11th. The 'military tribunals' are irrelivant and were simply an excuse to hold a bunch of zealous 'juvenile delinquents' of bin Laden's as a 'show case' of potential dangers to the USA.
I seriously doubt there are any 'real criminals,' except, for a few directly connected to the attacks of September 11th. Murderers are impossible to reassign to anywhere besides a maximum security prision in the USA. They must stand trial regardless of their age. Murder is murder.
But, to reassign these detainess to Europe opens up those countries to more danger and not less. The detainees need 'fair and open' hearings to 'aire' their crimes to the American public as well as the world and provide witness to American justice and the price murderers pay for their crimes.
The EU is far more vulnerable to these jihadists than the USA. The attacks of September 11, 2001 took place because those that supported bin Laden's agenda for the USA found a way into the infrastructure. They had to 'pass muster' to some extent to 'sneak' into this country and become part of the populous to learn to fly jumbo jets, etc.
In Europe there is far less protections for countries that are easy access to Pakistan and Afghanistan. To house detainees in Europe would be a mistake and open the countries there upto being a target. There is more likelihood that European prisons would become targets of extremists and even demonstrations by sympathizers. I simply don't believe it is a good idea.
What also troubles me is the 'idea' that the EU actually believes the USA cannot be trusted under President Obama 'to do the right thing' and handle the prosecution of any detainee to a civilized, moral and human rights standard. The people of the USA have elected a decent man as President in 2008 and expect him to live up to human rights standards on any front, be it needs in Africa regarding HIV/AIDS or waging war.
Europe simply needs to 'stand down' from its demands of the USA to allow them to 'handle these issues' as if the USA is incompetent to do it ourselves. We are capable of providing analysis of the circumstances of each detainee and prosecute, if necessary, within the borders of the USA. We have done it before and we can do it again. I believe our 'infrastructure' is not only ready to handle the issue, but, 'over prepared' to handle any problem that arises.
The Atlantic Ocean is a sufficient 'buffer' to allow protections for Europe and it is time the USA exhibit its loyalty to allies by keeping those that attacked this country within its borders to prosecute. It would eliminate any potential hardship from allies. Why ask for more problems in Madrid or London? It simply doesn't make sense.
