Mental Review of Gitmo Detainees: A Doctor's Up Close and Personal Perspective

Fifteen Years and Counting

Most interesting story from here.

Doctor (Lt. Cmdr.) Shay Rosecrans crossed into the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. She always tucked her medical school class ring into her bra, covered the name on her uniform with tape, and hid her necklace under her T-shirt, especially if she was wearing a cross. She also tried to block out thoughts of her 4-year-old daughter back home. She is a Navy psychiatrist who had been warned not to speak about her family or display anything personal, clues that might allow a terrorism suspect to identify her.

Gitmo patients called her the “torture bitch.”

They spit at her co-workers and shouted death threats. One even hurled a cup of urine, feces, and other body fluids at a psychologist who was working with her. Even interviewing prisoners to assess their mental health set off recriminations and claims that she was torturing them.  Some even demanded from her: “What would your Jesus think?”

Dr. Rosecrans has since retired from the Navy. She had led one of the mental health teams assigned to care for detainees at Gitmo – some for over the past 15 years.

Some of detainees had arrived as mentally disturbed and traumatized adolescents hauled in from the battlefield. Others are unstable adults who disrupted the cell blocks. 

Most face indefinite confinement, and continue to struggle with despair.

Her story continues at the link… quite astonishing insight into the mental status of detainees held there.

As I have always said in the past, imagine our VN POWs had had been held in the Hanoi “Hilton” for 15 years like those now detained at Gitmo under U.S. custody.

This continues to be an ugly stain on the honor of all Americans. Those not charged and many are in that category should have been released long ago. Those facing charges should be tried ASAP and put away for life via Federal courts which have been proven to be 100% effective NOT military tribunals, which are weak and quite honestly ineffective. Our civil courts have processed and sentence big name terrorists and none have escaped and most are will never be released. 

Sadly the GOP does not trust our own judicial system, but they should.

Thanks for stopping by… Come again. Updated when appropriate.