Detainees in orange jumpsuits sit in a holding area under the surveillence of US military police at Camp X-Ray at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Photo: AFP/GETTY From The Telegraph:
As President Barack Obama's deadline to close Guantánamo looms, some occupants of the notorious detention centre would rather prolong their stay than be sent to maximum security prisons on the US mainland, according to camp officials.
Despite its reputation, the regime at the Pentagon facility on Cuba's southern coast offers privileges that would not be enjoyed at the federal "supermax" prison at Florence, Colorado, the likely alternative for the most dangerous al-Qaeda suspects.
Sensitive to criticism that the detention centre was not meeting international standards, the Pentagon has gradually improved living conditions at Guantánamo.
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My Comment: If true .... and I have no reason to believe that it is not ....this gives an indication that much of the opposition towards Guantanamo has been politically based .... not on the specific treatment of detainees within the facility.
This should not be a surprise. If I was a detainee in Guantanamo, and I had a choice to stay there or go to a Supermax facility, I would stay put. Supermax is a prison with limited benefits and freedoms, and what I have seen in news reports gives me the shudders. Guantanamo is a detention center doubling as a prison, but with more liberties and freedoms than what would be available on the US mainland. My guess is that the Guantanamo detainees know this .... hence the petition to stay.
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