Gitmo is no Gulag

Sometimes we use words without really knowing what they mean. That seems to be the case with Amnesty International’s report calling Gitmo the “Gulag of our time.” Gulag is a Russian acronym used to describe forced labor camps in the former Soviet Union. After the “Great Revolution” in 1918, forced labor camp detention facilities were set up and operated in Siberia as a part of penal system. Prison populations in the Gulag varied widely from a low of about 200,000 in 1932 to about 1.6 million in 1939. During World War II, Gulag populations declined sharply, but only because the Soviets needed every man to support the war effort. After WWII the number of inmates in prison camps and colonies predictably rose again sharply and reached approximately 2.5 million people by the early 1950s. Here’s where it gets really interesting, the total number of documentable deaths in the Soviet Gulag from 1918-1956 is over two million!

Extreme production quotas, brutality, hunger and harsh elements were major reasons for the Gulag's high fatality rate, which was as high as 80% during the first months in many camps. Logging and mining were among the most common of activities, as well as the harshest. In a Gulag mine, one person's production quota might be as high as 29,000 pounds of ore per day. Failure to meet a quota resulted in a loss of vital rations, a cycle that usually had fatal consequences.

Now, compare a real Gulag to what is going on at Gitmo. First there is no forced labor or starvation, save the self inflicted hunger strike, often the first time some of these prisoners have ever seen a doctor, had a pair of eyeglasses or visited a dentist is in Gitmo courtesy of the US tax payer. Oliver North notes, “Upon arrival at Camp Delta, detainees are issued a blanket, a sheet, two orange ‘jumpsuits,’ flipflops, a foam sleeping pad, two bath towels, a washcloth, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, a prayer rug, and a Koran. They are allowed two 15-minute showers per week; they get recreation time and three culturally sensitive meals daily. Schedules are respectful of Islamic traditions, prayer calls are broadcast five times a day and arrows painted on the floors point to Mecca. Their regular quarters include a flushing toilet, running water and an off-the-floor bed. Detainees who ask for them are provided soccer balls, playing cards, chessboards and paperback books.”

Whatever Gitmo is, it is no Gulag. In fact refereeing to it as one does a great disservice to those who have perished or survived a real Gulag. It’s sort of like referring to civilian casualties in Iraq, most of which are caused by terrorists, as the Holocaust of time or referring to President Bush as the Hitler of time – comparisons which wacky Libs make from time to time. Such comparisons are absurd. They cheapen the sacrifices of the real people that lived through the real events and serve as proof positive that the public school system has failed to teach history.

Predictably, dopey Democrats, Joey Boy Biden, Chuck Rangel et al are shouting for the closure of Gitmo. Just as predictable, they offer no ideas for what ought to be done with the murdering bastards incarcerated there. Well, I think we ought to take the worst of the worst and move them in with Joey Boy and Chucky. I’d love to hear Bush say, “Well, Joey and Chucky I’m taking your advice. I’m shutting Gitmo down. Now we have these 30 murdering bastards that were Usama’s body guards. How many of these guys are you two willing to take until we can figure out the politically correct thing to do with these creeps?”