In another of his primetime investigative documentaries, Peter Jennings reports on one of the most controversial features of America’s war on terror – the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
After September, 11 2001, President Bush said that the war against terrorism demanded new tactics and new thinking. More than two years later, almost 600 prisoners from 40 countries are being held at Guantanamo.
They have no rights, no legal representation and according to the Administration, are not required to be treated according to the Geneva Conventions.
Peter Jennings Reporting – Guantanamo documents how this policy emerged, how it is being implemented and the possible consequences for the United States. Guantanamo is the focal point of a major debate about the balance between national security and individual liberty. It is a classic American debate, as old as the Republic.
At Camp Delta on Guantanamo, Jennings discovers that after 22,000 interrogations of the almost 600 prisoners held there, “maybe 50,” according to the Chief of Interrogations, continue to provide intelligence of any value. While the government will release no information about the prisoners, Guantanamo reports on the prisoners’ path from capture in Afghanistan to their internment at Camp Delta.
The commanding general at Guantanamo and former Administration insiders shed light on decision-making within the White House and the Department of Defense. From London, Kuwait and Pakistan the program reports first-hand accounts of how prisoners were treated. The father of one prisoner tells the sadly ironic story of how he believed his son was finally safe when he fell into American hands – only to see him taken away to Guantanamo.
Guantanamo first aired June 25, 2004 on ABC.
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PRODUCED BY Sherry Jones
CORRESPONDENT Peter Jennings
CO-PRODUCERS Christopher Buchanan Christina Lowery
PHOTOGRAPHED & EDITED BY Foster Wiley
SECOND EDITOR Jennifer Beman White
FIELD PRODUCERS Nick Sturdee Sami Yousafzai
SOUND Paul Rusnak Brian Buckley
ADDITIONAL CAMERA Brett Wiley Hayat Khan
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Gillian Klempner
MUSIC Richard Fiocca
COORDINATING PRODUCER Gabrielle Tenenbaum
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Tom Yellin
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Clive Helfet