Peter Jennings Reporting: Guantanamo

Originally broadcast in June 2004 as a one-hour 20/20 special on ABC, Peter Jennings Reporting: Guantanamo now stands as a fitting journalistic tribute to Jennings, who died of lung cancer August 7, 2005. The post-9/11 story of Cuba's Guantanamo Bay prison (where the U.S. government holds military prisoners) is a tale of unchecked presidential power in a time of political and military crisis. Without resorting to oversimplification, Jennings eloquently observes how cherished American legal protections such as due process were routinely ignored at Guantanamo, where prisoners (i.e. alleged terrorists) were/are held without the option of appeal, interrogated up to 20 hours at a time, and detained indefinitely with no formal charges brought against them. Jennings profiles two prisoners with no ties to terrorism (without access to government files, he interviews their families instead), and while “Gitmo” officials clearly state that Geneva Convention protocols regarding treatment of prisoners were never violated, Jennings' report makes it evident that prisoners' rights have been routinely compromised in the post-9/11 climate of fear. A well-balanced report that acknowledges the need for tighter security policies in the era of domestic terrorism, while stressing the necessity of adhering to American judicial values, this is highly recommended. [Note: also newly available in the Peter Jennings Reporting series are LAPD and From the Tobacco File.] Aud: H, C, P. (J. Shannon)