Inside the Beltway

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By Jennifer Harper INSIDE THE BELTWAY

Gitmo woe

Broadcasters have used outdated video footage of Guantanamo Bay detention center for years. No matter what the story, American viewers saw the same old images — usually a pathetic, shackled inmate doing a perp walk between two big MPs. The all-important disclosure phrase "file tape" did not appear much, leaving viewers with the impression that the facility remained a veritable dungeon.

The reports seldom mentioned that most detainees gain weight. Their teeth are tended by U.S. Navy dentists; their medical needs addressed. Their diet is Mediterranean and sensitive to Islam. The suspected terrorists also have access to a library, current newspapers, DVDs, outdoor recreation, a new football field, picnic benches, prayer rugs.

So is it any wonder that many are reluctant to leave the site?

"Guantanamo suspects want to stay, say officials. As President Obama's deadline to close Guantanamo looms, some occupants of the notorious detention center would rather prolong their stay than be sent to maximum security prisons on the U.S. mainland, according to camp officials," says Alex Spillius of the Daily Telegraph.

"Despite its reputation, the regime at the Pentagon facility on Cuba's southern coast offers privileges that would not be enjoyed at the federal 'supermax' prison at Florence, Colorado, the likely alternative for the most dangerous al Qaeda suspects."

It is an interesting irony, particularly as the Jan. 22 deadline for shuttering the facility looms.

"Peter King, a Republican congressman who visited earlier this year and wants the prison kept open, said that 'if there's any scandal at Guantanamo, it is that the detainees are treated too well,'" Mr. Spillius adds.

One Arabic cultural adviser told the journalist, "Given the choice of being sentenced forever in Guantanamo or moved to a supermax, it is, 'No, can I stay in Gitmo?' Here they can be outside, they can smell the sea."

Con game