Guantanamo Bay Detainees to Receive $750,000 Soccer Field by America Live 3:23 pm ET February 28, 2012 Accused terrorists at Guantanamo Bay will be getting a brand new $750,000 soccer field. This news comes the same day that the Pentagon is talking about where to cut billions of dollars from the defense budget. Chief Intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reported from Guantanamo Bay with more on this story. She said earlier today after going out to the detention camp, she saw that Camp 4, which is the outdoor camp, had been shut down. She explained that it was very popular with the detainees because it allowed them to play soccer and basketball outside. All those detainees have now been moved over to Camp 6, where she found a major renovation underway. The soccer field was signed off in April of last year and expected to be completed this spring. Catherine said the detainees at Camp 6 will now have three recreation centers: the existing inside and outside facilities, and by spring the new one that is being called the super recreation center. She described it, telling Megyn Kelly that itâs about half the size of an American football field. In addition, it has some interesting specifications, including trails so that the detainees can travel from the indoor detention center to the outdoor field without being escorted by U.S. military personnel. On the tour, Catherine was told that one of the reasons they wanted to build a soccer field was because in encourages detainees to follow the rules and they also felt it was in keeping with the number of detainees who like communal style living. She said officials werenât able to answer who signed off on this project, especially with the amount money involved, whether that was a local decision at Guantanamo Bay or approved in Washington D.C. http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/02/28/guantanamo-bay-detainees-to-receive-750000-soccer-field/
Great way to balance the budget, spend money we don't have entertaining our enemies. Maybe we should provide each prisoner with 72 virgins as well.
Our troops are getting shot in the back by afghan soldiers and we are pissing money away like this? and why does it cost that much to build a friggin' soccer field anyway? These guys never saw a grass field in their lives. You can't make this stuff up.
The money infuriates me however I would just offer that must treat our prisoners of war like we would want our captured soldiers to be treated. It seldom works that way but the ideal should be upheld, no?
We should have spent that money building a crematorium to burn their asses in - or some nice gallows - or fancy electric chairs.
What i find funny is that Panetta is all over the news talking about these draconian cuts to defense, and how there is simply no way he can reduce the defense budget.....How bout we start with not providing million dollar soccer fields to terrorists....
I just feel strongly that we need to treat POWs in the same manner that we want our captured soldiers treated. Its one of the distinctions between us and the bad guys. It is also an inducement to enemy combatants on the battle field to surrender instead of fight because they know they will be treated humanely, they know they will be fed, they know they will receive medical attention. I'm not saying specifically that they should be given a soccer field. I'm just saying that we should treat prisoners as we would want our captured soldiers treated. Our country learned that in the Civil War at Andersonville.
Good point. Andersonville or Chicago? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Douglas_(Chicago) http://www.censusdiggins.com/prison_camp_douglas.html Most aren't aware of it but the north treated it's POWs as bad as the south did. And had less of an excuse to do so since the north had greater resources.
Andersonville and Chicago. That episode of Ken Burns documentary was hard to watch. But you are right that no other countries ever seem to reciprocate. My grampa was captured on Sumatra and had stories about the Japanese that are difficult to believe. The Japanese were told that we abused prisoners and they believed it so our guys were treated like animals. Why are we spending big money on a facility that is supposed to be closed? Obama was critical of George Bush for operating Gitmo and now he is actually doing improvements on the facility.