The Guantanamo Effect

This remarkable book, based on a two-year study of former prisoners of the U.S. government's detention facility at Guantaacute;namo Bay, Cuba, reveals in graphic detail the cumulative effect of the Bush administration's "war on terror." Scrupulously researched and devoid of rhetoric, the book deepens the story of post-9/11 America and the nation's descent into the netherworld of prisoner abuse. Researchers interviewed more than sixty former Guantaacute;namo detainees in nine countries, as well as key government officials, military experts, former guards, interrogators, lawyers for detainees, and other camp personnel. We hear directly from former detainees as they describe the events surrounding their capture, their years of incarceration, and the myriad difficulties which have prevented many from resuming a life of normalcy upon returning home. Several detainees recount being subjected to so-called "enhanced" interrogation techniques and inhumane treatment-including physical and psychological abuse that many would classify as torture. This powerful book, prepared jointly by researchers with the Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, and the International Human Rights Law Clinic, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, in partnership with the Center for Constitutional Rights, makes vivid the plight of detainees and contributes significantly to our ongoing debate surrounding the U.S.'s commitments to international law during war time.