To: S100 who wrote (112879 ) 2/10/2002 1:12:51 AM From: Jon Koplik Respond to of 152472 Off topic -- More Detainees Arrive in Guantanamo February 9, 2002 More Detainees Arrive in Guantanamo By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 8:10 p.m. ET GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- Marines equipped with machine guns, grenade launchers, pepper spray and batons rushed to greet a transport plane delivering 34 more detainees from Afghanistan on Saturday. Gearing up for their mission, some of the young members of the Marines' Quick Reaction Force jammed to the hit Queen song ``We Will Rock You'' as a ferry carried them across the bay toward the airfield at this remote U.S. Navy base. ``I enjoy getting my hands on them,'' said Michael Pfadenhauer, a 22-year-old from Baltimore who was among Marines on guard when the C-141 cargo plane arrived after a 25-hour flight. ``These are the actual people who are responsible for the destruction in New York and Washington. ... It feels good to see them inside their little cages. They're where they belong,'' he said. The fresh arrivals came two days after Washington announced that the Geneva Convention -- a group of treaties dealing with the treatment of war prisoners -- should apply to detainees from the ousted Afghan Taliban regime, but not to detainees of the al-Qaida network. Regardless of the legal distinction, Brig. Gen. Mike Lehnert, the Marine in charge of the detention mission, said both groups would be treated the same -- humanely. He said they may be separated later if Congress gives approval to build a semi-permanent prison. ``We have a group that claims status as Taliban. There is a smaller number that we've confirmed through other sources who are al-Qaida,'' Lehnert told reporters Saturday. Of the other detainees, ``All we can say for certain is that none of them are on our side.'' The arrivals Saturday brought to 220 the number of prisoners being held at what's called Camp X-Ray, a temporary prison of open-air cells with walls of chain-link fence. President Bush's administration refused this week to bow to demands from several countries that the Taliban detainees be given official prisoner-of-war status. However, a U.S. congressman who toured Camp X-Ray said the detainees were being treated fairly under the Geneva Conventions. ``They are getting medical screening and medical care. They are getting 2,600 calories a day. Their spiritual needs are being taken care of,'' Rep. James Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin who is chairman of the U.S. House of Representative's Judicial Committee, said Friday. Earlier, the lilting cry of a Muslim Navy cleric had risen over the camp, calling the detainees to midday prayers. The cleric, Bangladesh-born Lt. Abuhena Saiful-Islam, has said that some of the detainees have expressed regrets to him about the Sept. 11 attack. Several countries have demanded that their citizens be returned home to face interrogation or trial. U.S. officials have said the detainees come from 25 countries. On Thursday, a senior Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity said they included about 50 Saudis, 30 Yemenis, 25 Pakistanis, eight Algerians, three Britons and small numbers from Egypt, Australia, France, Russia, Belgium and Sweden. Some countries, including Britain, welcomed Washington's announcement about the detainees' status. But the International Committee of the Red Cross said it fell short of the requirements of international law. ``The ICRC stands by its position that people in a situation of international conflict are considered to be prisoners of war unless a competent tribunal decides otherwise,'' spokeswoman Kim Gordon-Bates said. Such a status would give the detainees greater legal protections, and prevent the United States from trying them in secret military commission empowered to impose the death sentence. The Geneva Conventions set four conditions for qualification as a POW: to be part of a military hierarchy; to wear uniforms or other distinctive signs; to carry arms openly; and to conduct operations according to the laws and customs of war. In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld reiterated Friday that the Taliban did not wear uniforms, insignia or symbols and had no identifiable chains of command. On his way to meet the latest group of prisoners to arrive at the Guantanamo base during Camp X-Ray's 35 days of operation, Pfadenhauer said Saturday he didn't expect any major problems from the prisoners. ``They do not give us a hard time,'' he said. ``A lot of them we bring off (the plane) are actually pretty scared. They should be.'' Copyright 2002 The Associated Press