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Walden: Criticism 'an insult' Back from detainee center, congressman defends U.S. process By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune In the middle of Camp X-ray is a big, white sign with green Arabic letters pointing east to Mecca, which Muslims must face when they pray. Rep. Greg Walden said Saturday the sign in effect points to the humane treatment he said 158 suspected Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners are getting at the hands of the U.S. military in Cuba. "They have prayer mats and Korans," said the Oregon Republican, back in the states after a quick trip to the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay. "They have three meals a day. There's a Muslim clergyman who is a member of the U.S. military. I came away feeling this overseas criticism is not only wrong factually, but an insult." The United States has been criticized on a number of grounds in connection with its treatment of the prisoners, including holding prisoners in cramped accommodations with concrete floors. Walden spent three hours observing the prisoners and the facility as part of a bipartisan group including two U.S. senators and 11 congressmen. He said the group was unanimous in concluding treatment of the prisoners met standards of the Geneva Convention. Oregon Democrat Peter DeFazio said essentially the same thing Friday. The picture military authorities painted was this, Walden said: The prisoners, from some 25 countries, arrive at Guantanamo on transport planes. Most are in their 20s and 30s. Shackled and blindfolded, they are put on a bus with blacked-out windows and no seats. They are not told where they are. They take a ferry to the camp, where they are unshackled and allowed to shower. They are given chest X-rays. Some have wounds that are weeks old, or broken legs partially set. They are seen by military doctors. They fill out a next-of-kin card to be turned over to the Red Cross, which will try to contact their families. They are put in cyclone-fenced enclosures Walden estimated as measuring 8 feet by 8 feet with cement floors. They're given blankets, towels, soap and buckets. Their heads and beards are shaved. "We never got a clear answer if shaving was a problem for them," Walden said. Many Muslims believe men must wear long beards. Walden said the men's beards were filled with lice. He said they will be allowed to grow the beards back. The facility was put up quickly. Twenty days ago, none of it existed. Walden said he was told the prisoners were military leaders, and that some may wind up facing a military tribunal. He said the focus of interrogations now is to get information about other terrorist attacks that may be planned. "It's about trying to get information we can use," he said. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.