What Happened In Camp 7?

It’s the now infamous Gitmo camp (aka Camp No) – only visible on Google Maps, but denied by the Pentagon – “‘I’m not even functionally allowed to discuss the place,’ said Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokesman.” It’s the place where, on one fateful night, paddy wagons came and went, whence screams could be heard during “aggressive questioning”, and whence three corpses are believed to have emerged. It’s where KSM is kept. And it’s the location of some of the worst excesses of the torture program under Bush and Cheney, according to the forthcoming Senate Intelligence Committee report. And today, we have an insanity case there that further troubles the conscience:

Prisoner Ramzi Binalshibh has accused the government of making noises and vibrations inside Camp 7 to deliberately keep him awake, reminiscent of the intentional sleep deprivation, along with other forms of abuse, that his lawyers say he endured at the hands of the CIA from the time he was captured in Pakistan in September 2002 to when he was brought to Guantanamo four years later. Military officials deny doing anything intentional to disrupt his sleep. Prosecutors say his accusations are delusions, though they still believe he is mentally competent to stand trial. His lawyers say he is competent, but are not convinced officials have adequately investigated his complaints…

His mental state is somewhat murky. Court records show Binalshibh has been treated while in Guantanamo with medications that are used for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but he did not participate in a court-ordered mental evaluation in January … Another possibility is that his inability to sleep and his fevered outbursts in court, which prompted the judge to order him removed from the courtroom in December, are a result of post-traumatic stress from his treatment at secret CIA interrogation centers known as black sites, said Anne Fitzgerald, director of the research and crisis response program for Amnesty International.

So he is either being tortured or is suffering PTSD from previous torture. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what America has become.

Update: I clarify the distinction between Camp 7 and Camp No here.