 |
Photo by James V. Carroll |
Three months ago, Gregory J. Zanetti was a stockbroker and financial adviser in New Mexico. Today, he is an Army National Guard brigadier general who helps lead a multi-branch team of 2,200 personnel in what he describes as the “most misunderstood assignment in the military.
“It is a mission misunderstood by most, reviled by some and unique to everyone,” said Brig. Gen. Zanetti, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, the closely scrutinized 45-square-mile U.S. military installation on Cuba that has held and interrogated enemy combatants and terrorism suspects from the Global War on Terrorism since 2002.
On April 1, Zanetti addressed more than 1,000 members of The American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary gathered in the nation’s capital this week for the 48th Annual Washington Conference and Legislative Rally.
The general explained in detail and candor the many ways “Gitmo” detainees are given fair and humane treatment, from culturally appropriate meals to numerous spiritual and recreational opportunities. There are 100 medical personnel to cover the needs of 275 detainees, and a state-of-the-art courtroom has been constructed as legal proceedings against the detainees are now under way. Meanwhile, the detainees “believe the camps are an extension of the battlefield,” Zanetti explained, adding that they have attempted to form new terror cells inside the fence and frequently fling feces and other body fluids at the guards.
Zanetti recollected for Legionnaires an incident when one female guard was told by a detainee that he was going to rape her and, after he gets out, find her and kill her and her family. The soldier shook it off and went back to work for another 12-hour day. The general was impressed by her response. “That’s when I fully realized we are going to win this war,” Zanetti said. “Her toughness.”
On Monday, Zanetti gave a more comprehensive presentation to The American Legion’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Commissions. In that forum, he spoke often of a general “disconnect” between public perception and what really goes on at Guantanamo Bay, particularly when it comes to allegations of torture against detainees. “They believe the people who want to kill them but distrust the people who are trying to protect them.”
Zanetti drew a standing ovation when he expressed frustration over frequent questions alleging detainee abuse at what he calls “the most transparent detention facility in the world.”
He said that with all the measures taken to assure fair treatment of the terror suspects, people need to “quit talking to me about abuse and torture … Frankly, I’m sick of it.”
Guantanamo Link
