The Man of Sorrows: A Naval Academy professor visits Guantánamo

When I visited the detention camps in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, I was shown a television room with shackles welded into the concrete floor. It was a stomach-turning sight, yet even then, a friendly guard said, “The detainees like coming in here because they are shackled by their ankles only. No handcuffs in here. This room is a reward for good behavior.” I was startled by the guard’s seeming ability to transform shackles into a positive.

Throughout my visit to Guantánamo, I heard repeated explanations of our humane treatment of the detainees. Like a school principal proud of a new building or a mayor happy with a new recreation center, each staff member pointed out all the good features of the detention camps. Tour guides at national monuments are seldom more upbeat and optimistic.

The staff is not sadistic. They are not Nurse Ratched. Rather they fiercely believe in the American ideals of justice and fairness and decent treatment of those in our custody. They want to change the public view of the camps, a view the staff believes is distorted.

Nowhere was this belief more apparent than outside the medical bay when a medical staffer explained force-feedings. With professional calm and compassion, she explained that when we force-feed the detainees, we are taking care of them. We cannot let them starve. The tacit subtext was clear: we are, after all, the United States of America, founded on a Judeo-Christian culture. Inmates are not being mistreated during the procedure, for we are not a country that mistreats others.