Check out Dan Matthews and Julian Assange’s Wikileaks analysis of the difference between the 2003 and 2004 Guantanamo Bay manuals. Matthews and Assange note that the 2004 manual restricts detainees’ access to prison chaplains — most likely in response to the case of James Yee, an Army chaplain then suspected of espionage for al-Qaeda and since cleared of all charges. The result of the Yee Affair was, apparently, a transformation of religious-comfort services into a potential intelligence-collection operation:
In March 2003, the chaplain could access detainee areas unaccompanied, and could âspeak freely with detaineesâ, but by March 2004, the chaplain is âassigned an escortâ to visit detainee holding areas â potentially a form of surveillance. And the chaplain can âspeak with detaineesâ – but apparently not so freely as before.
Furthermore, in other parts of the manual, the chaplain is again disempowered â from making announcements on the PA system (sections 16-3 and 16-5), from providing religious items (section 16-13). And guards are no longer encouraged to seek the chaplain’s advice on religious matters (section 16-14).
Matthews and Assange also note how the manual expresses hostility for the International Committee of the Red Cross:
Edits to the manual suggest that further hurdles may have been placed in the way of the Red Cross. Sction 17-2 stipulates that the Red Cross âis restricted from all buildings without prior approval… except the Detention Clinic and the Detention Hospital.â Then, the Red Cross is required to be aware of âscheduled guard feeding timesâ and adjust their schedule accordingly.
The Red Cross is prohibited from passing mail between detainees in both manuals. The 2003 manual stipulates in chapter 13 that âAt no time should [Red Cross] reps pass any mail between detaineesâ.
By 2004, the military saw fit to make the stipulation, if nothing else, louder: âAT NO TIME should ICRC reps pass any mail between detainees.â