|
Confessions of a Gitmo Guard
A Nightmare World of Torture and Prison Guard
Suicides
By Debbie Nathan
26/02/08 "Counterpunch"
-- - A psychiatrist who has treated former military
personnel at Guantánamo prison camp is telling a story of
prisoner torture and guard suicide there, recounted to him by a
National Guardsman who worked at Guantánamo just after it
opened.
Dr. John R. Smith, 75, is a Oklahoma City psychiatrist who has
done worked at military posts during the past few years. He is
also a consultant for the University of Oklahoma's Department of
Psychiatry and Behavioral Services, and is affiliated with the
Veteran's Affairs Administration Hospital in Oklahoma City. The
court-appointed psychiatric examination of Timothy McVeigh, who
bombed the Murrah Federal Building in 1995, was conducted by
Smith. A few years ago, he became a contract physician, treating
active duty members of the US military in need of psychotherapy.
Smith spoke on February 22, 2008, at the annual meeting of the
American Academy of Forensic Sciences, held in Washington DC.
His presentation dealt with the psychological impact on guards
of working at Guantánamo . He focused on a chilling case
history, of a patient he called "Mr. H."
.
Smith described Mr. H as a blue-collar Latino in his 40s who had
done routine service in the National Guard for years before
being called up to Kuwait. Then, shortly after 9/11, he was
diverted from Kuwait to Guantánamo . The detention camp had just
opened. Mr. H was deployed there to work as a guard.
Untrained for the job, Mr. H was taken aback by the detainees.
They threw feces and urine on him, said Smith, and tried to get
him to sneak letters out, telling him that if he didn't, "they
would see to it that his family suffered the consequences." The
prisoners also mocked Mr. H, that his being in the military made
him "a traitor" to Latinos and other minorities. Mr. H was
confused and terrified.
Meanwhile, according to Smith, "this good Catholic man with a
family who had pretty much always followed the rules" was called
on to participate in torture. One of his jobs was "to take
detainees to certain places and see that they were handcuffed in
difficult positions, usually naked, in anticipation of
interrogation." Mr. H often watched the questioning. He saw
prisoners pushed until they fell down, then cut. They responded
to the torture with "defecation, vomiting, urinating," and
"psychotic reactions: bizarre screaming and crying."
Smith noted that Mr. H said he was "required to handcuff and
push to the ground detainees who were naked." The prisoners were
also made to "remain on sharp stones on their knees." Detainees,
Mr. H told Smith, would try to avoid interrogation by rubbing
their knees until they bled in order be taken to the prison
hospital.
According to Smith, Mr. H's comment about these events "was
poignant and simple: 'It was wrong what we did.'" While still at
Guantánamo , he responded to being a participant in torture
"with guilt, crying and tears. But of course it was forbidden to
talk with anyone about what he was experiencing." He "became
more and more depressed." Apparently, so did other military
personnel. Smith said Mr. H told him that in the first month he
was at Guantánamo , two guards committed suicide.
Smith said that by the time he saw Mr. H, he "had become very
ill. He was suicidal, terribly depressed, anxious," and "riddled
with insomnia and horrible dreams and flashbacks." He had
already seen two military therapists and not improved. But those
therapists "were active duty and he didn't dare tell them" what
had happened at Guantánamo . Smith was not active duty, and
after two or three sessions Mr. H opened up. With medication and
psychotherapy, he became less suicidal but was still too sick to
do any more military service.
Three years later after treating Mr. H, Smith got three new
patients who were guards at Guantánamo on later tours. They said
conditions were much improved --"they loved it at Guantánamo and
went swimming in the Caribbean." Still, one guard was having
problems directly related to his work there. He "described
having to cut down a detainee" who tried to hang himself after
chewing through an artery in his own arm. There was blood
everywhere. When the guard left Guantánamo , he was suffering
from "anxiety attacks, panic attacks."
Smith said his presentation at the American Academy of Forensic
Sciences meeting was the first time he'd ever spoken publicly
about his Guantánamo patients. He decided to talk, he said,
because he is concerned that veterans are generally ineligible
for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) disability benefits if
the condition is not caused by combat. He considers the guards
of Guantánamo "an overlooked group of victims." But in making
that case, Smith stepped into a unique role. Heretofore, almost
all accounts of torture at Guantánamo have come from
non-governmental human rights groups or detainees and their
defense lawyers. The FBI accounts in 2004 were contradictory.
Smith, a prestigious physician, relayed accounts from inside the
military.
Debbie Nathan is a New York City-based journalist who writes
frequently for CounterPunch. She can be reached at
naess2@gmail.com
Click on "comment" below to read or post comments
Comment Guidelines
Be succinct, constructive and
relevant to the story.
We encourage engaging, diverse
and meaningful commentary. Do not include
personal information such as names, addresses,
phone numbers and emails. Comments falling
outside our guidelines – those including
personal attacks and profanity – are not
permitted.
See our complete
Comment Policy
and
use this link to notify us if you have concerns
about a comment.
We’ll promptly review and remove any
inappropriate postings.
Send Page To a Friend
In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational
purposes. Information Clearing House has no
affiliation whatsoever with the originator of
this article nor is Information ClearingHouse
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
|
