Search - Inside the Wire: Guantanamo (Ws) on DVD

Well-done and even-handed

James D. Crabtree | Fayetteville, North Carolina | 04/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"National Geographic was given unprecedented access in order to produce their film on the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and they took advantage of it to produce a documentary which does show what life is like for both the detainees and the guards who must serve inside the wire.



While not a 100% accurate portrayal of what goes on in the facility (the very presence of the cameras changes the behavior of the detainees) it is as close as it gets to seeing the inside of Gitmo without actually getting assigned to JTF Guantanamo Bay. Interviews allow the viewer to get a better idea of the issues which surround the controversial facility, including (unfounded) allegations of "torture," the problems involved with releasing detainees, and the legal responsibilities of the U.S. government. Lawyers for detainees, guards, military officers and even released detainees themselves all discuss issues which surround Guantanamo.



If the film has a weakness it is that the statements of former detainees are not more strongly challenged. For instance, the former Taliban "ambassador" to Pakistan stated something to the effect that Islamic scholars "studied and respected" the U.S. legal system prior to the long detention of detainees at Gitmo. This statement is absolutely absurd... the only legal system they study and respect is Sharia law. They hate everything else. I disliked the fact that this statement was not challenged.



Also, the implication that detainee treatment at Gitmo "radicalized" them is equally stupid. Jihadists were bombing our embassies, ships and the WTC (twice!) well before Guantanamo. The lawyers could have used some more scrutiny as well, in their statements that "they only wish to see due process" in the case of detainees. Many of these folks are antiwar and antiprison types and have agendas other than judicial.



My take? Could have been a bit better. But it could have been a LOT WORSE. Anyone who questions the mass media's template of Guantanamo Bay does so at their own risk. Just look at what happened to Miss Universe."