Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Little, Brown and Company (2015), 432 pages
Description
An unprecedented international publishing event: the first and only diary written by a still-imprisoned Guantánamo detainee. Since 2002, Mohamedou Slahi has been imprisoned at the detainee camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. In all these years, the United States has never charged him with a crime. Although he was ordered released by a federal judge, the U.S. government fought that decision, and there is no sign that the United States plans to let him go. Three years into his captivity Slahi began a diary, recounting his life before he disappeared into U.S. custody and daily life as a detainee. His diary is not merely a vivid record of a miscarriage of justice, but a deeply personal memoir--terrifying, darkly humorous, and surprisingly gracious. Published now for the first time, Guantánamo Diary is a document of immense historical importance."--Provided by publisher.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member librorumamans
Mohamedou Ould Slahi is an astonishing man. In his fourth language, learned in appalling circumstances from mostly terrible teachers, he has written an eloquent, thoughtful, measured, and occasionally almost light-hearted memoir of his first four years as a detainee of the Americans.
His account
The disturbing aspect of the diary is its exposure of the extent of the American moral failure since 9/11, failures that originated at the very top of the chain of command not once but routinely. Also disturbing is the low quality -- with very few exceptions -- of the front-line personnel government agencies have available to conduct this most urgent of investigations.
What rescues the book from the utter bleakness of its events is Slahi himself. This is a man of enormous inner strength and, one suspects, integrity. Even after suffering years of brutal mistreatment, he presents himself as forgiving and unembittered, and even perhaps a more deeply understanding man than he was before his arrest. The moral vacuum in which he is imprisoned may invite despair, but he himself is fully capable of countering that vacuum and filling it.
His account
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makes for disturbing reading. Even if one remains skeptical of his statements that he had no involvement in any illegal activity against the USA, after many months of intense interrogation by many agencies and countries, and after fifteen years in custody, he remains uncharged and untried. In editing the text, Larry Siems has meticulously cross-referenced Slahi's diary against those official reports and records that have made it into the public domain. These sources corroborate much of what Slahi recounts.The disturbing aspect of the diary is its exposure of the extent of the American moral failure since 9/11, failures that originated at the very top of the chain of command not once but routinely. Also disturbing is the low quality -- with very few exceptions -- of the front-line personnel government agencies have available to conduct this most urgent of investigations.
What rescues the book from the utter bleakness of its events is Slahi himself. This is a man of enormous inner strength and, one suspects, integrity. Even after suffering years of brutal mistreatment, he presents himself as forgiving and unembittered, and even perhaps a more deeply understanding man than he was before his arrest. The moral vacuum in which he is imprisoned may invite despair, but he himself is fully capable of countering that vacuum and filling it.
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LibraryThing member acgallegos91
I am amazed that somebody can build such an incriminating opinion about people he or she doesn't even know." - Mohamedou Ould Slahi
If you read any piece of nonfiction this year, read this memoir written by a current Guantanamo detainee. Slahi recounts how he became a prisoner on the island
If you read any piece of nonfiction this year, read this memoir written by a current Guantanamo detainee. Slahi recounts how he became a prisoner on the island
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prison after Congress gave the military and FBI carte blanche to pursue terrorists after 9/11. Slahi (an ex-Al-Qaeda fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan) was illegally kidnapped in his home country of Mauritania before being turned over to the US. A German-trained engineer, Slahi never set foot in the US before landing in GITMO in 2002 only to be systematically tortured and held without charges or a trial. The author claims to bear no ill will against the US and has no ties to terrorism aside from being part of Al Qaeda when the US-backed fighters against the Soviets. Slahi's descriptions of torture are disturbing and only made more damning by the sections blacked out by government censors. This memoir is an important read to understand the war crimes being perpetrated against people the US says are terrorists despite having no trial or access to the evidence against them. Slahi was ordered to be released from GITMO in 2010 by a federal judge, but he remains locked up and serves as a reminder of the growing black mark on the US' foreign policy, justice system and ethical dealings with international citizens. Show Less
LibraryThing member jcbrunner
One president proclaimed: "The United States doesn't torture." The next one already acknowledged: "We tortured some folks." This is the story of one of those folks that might help the reality challenged Harvard educated brains of Arkansas senator Tom Cotton who said that "none of these people at
The truth, unfortunately, did not fit US needs, so they sent him to Jordan, Afghanistan and then to Guantanamo Bay where he was tortured to produce the narrative the Americans wanted. This account of his time from 2001 to 2005 reads eerily like the torture sustained by the protagonist of Zweig's Chess Story/Royal Game. The stupidity of the US torture regime was boundless. First by picking up many either totally innocent victims or low-level footsoldiers who were then interrogated by an incompetent and thoughtless bureaucracy, e.g. Slahi was asked about other Al Qaeda member activities in 2003 when he had already been in US custody for more than two years and could not know anything.
This book names names (redacted) that could serve to prosecute the worst torturers some of which now provide police protection at O'Hare airport. All those torturers and unethical doctors and psychologists will apply their corrosive skills within the United States that has already sent Guantanamo down the memoryhole. It is crazy that in 2015, Slahi is still imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay despite being cleared for release in 2010 and most likely innocent of all terrorist activities though an Al Qaeda sympathizer and conservative Muslim.
At the same time, Saudi ambassador Bandar "Bandar Bush" bin Sultan's wife paid the rent of some of the 9/11 hijackers while they trained for their mission in the United States. Future historians will be puzzled about the unjust and counterproductive treatment of different Muslims. Slahi's book is an important voice of the voiceless folks who had to endure torture by Americans in a misdirected vengeance for the suffering of 9/11. One of the Kafkaesque banalities of evil was the US decision to classify Slahi's own account for six years and thus rob him of making the injustice of his case more widely known. Slahi might well be a Dreyfus of the 21st century.
The surprising fact is the warmth and intelligence of Slahi's account after all the injustice and torture he had to endure. Like Nelson Mandela, who by the way happened to be still on the US terrorist watch list while Slahi was writing his account, Slahi used his ample time in the cages and cells to mature to a mensch whose humanity is still denied by Tom Cotton and, to a lesser degree, Barack Obama. In a juster world, part of the text would be incorporated into US school texts. Highly recommended.
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Guantanamo Bay are entitled to those protections. They were unlawful combatants not wearing uniforms or declaring themselves on the battlefield, fighting among civilians." While this statement is wrong in itself, the author of this text, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, was not picked up on any battlefield but drove himself to a police station in Mauretania, Africa, to explain to the umpteenth time to the Americans that he was not a terrorist (though a former Al Qaeda member).The truth, unfortunately, did not fit US needs, so they sent him to Jordan, Afghanistan and then to Guantanamo Bay where he was tortured to produce the narrative the Americans wanted. This account of his time from 2001 to 2005 reads eerily like the torture sustained by the protagonist of Zweig's Chess Story/Royal Game. The stupidity of the US torture regime was boundless. First by picking up many either totally innocent victims or low-level footsoldiers who were then interrogated by an incompetent and thoughtless bureaucracy, e.g. Slahi was asked about other Al Qaeda member activities in 2003 when he had already been in US custody for more than two years and could not know anything.
This book names names (redacted) that could serve to prosecute the worst torturers some of which now provide police protection at O'Hare airport. All those torturers and unethical doctors and psychologists will apply their corrosive skills within the United States that has already sent Guantanamo down the memoryhole. It is crazy that in 2015, Slahi is still imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay despite being cleared for release in 2010 and most likely innocent of all terrorist activities though an Al Qaeda sympathizer and conservative Muslim.
At the same time, Saudi ambassador Bandar "Bandar Bush" bin Sultan's wife paid the rent of some of the 9/11 hijackers while they trained for their mission in the United States. Future historians will be puzzled about the unjust and counterproductive treatment of different Muslims. Slahi's book is an important voice of the voiceless folks who had to endure torture by Americans in a misdirected vengeance for the suffering of 9/11. One of the Kafkaesque banalities of evil was the US decision to classify Slahi's own account for six years and thus rob him of making the injustice of his case more widely known. Slahi might well be a Dreyfus of the 21st century.
The surprising fact is the warmth and intelligence of Slahi's account after all the injustice and torture he had to endure. Like Nelson Mandela, who by the way happened to be still on the US terrorist watch list while Slahi was writing his account, Slahi used his ample time in the cages and cells to mature to a mensch whose humanity is still denied by Tom Cotton and, to a lesser degree, Barack Obama. In a juster world, part of the text would be incorporated into US school texts. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member Sullywriter
A harrowing, revealing memoir by a Guantanamo "detainee" imprisoned since 2002. Slahi's shameful, appalling treatment at the hands of the U.S. government reveals that whatever moral authority the U.S. may have had at the beginning of the "War on Terror" was quickly squandered to the point that
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there is now little difference between America and whoever is the "enemy." Show Less
LibraryThing member pbirch01
The story itself is hard to comprehend and even fathom - how can humans really treat other humans like that? But they do and Slahi's autobiography is very good and the book as a whole is very easy to read. The parts about torture and beatings are difficult to read, but once you get past them, this
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book becomes a very interesting insight into some of the inner workings of the US military. I felt the author demonstrated how the US military can be bureaucratic and extremely unorganized at times. He also presents just enough information about the different guards and interrogators to allow the reader to have a better mental image. Who were these people and what motivated them to keep showing up for this job every day? Finally, Slahi has one of the most incredible senses of optimism of any writer I have ever read and it seemed that this unshakable optimism and his faith were what the interrogators wanted but were never able to take from him. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
Guantánamo Diary, as a work of prison literature, is particularly disturbing because the regime is the United States, my own country. If we take Slahi at his word, and there are good reasons to do so, he is an innocent man. If he was a known terrorist it would be easier, but the knowledge that he
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is probably innocent is crushing. If he was an angry and base personality we might understand given his circumstances, but he is man of honor, grace, wit and intelligence. The weight bears down. The story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi is not over, he has written his own J'accuse. Slahi is a scapegoat to save face of the military and politicians and slake the bloodlust of a public intent on revenge at any cost. Show Less
LibraryThing member ohernaes
Writing in 2005, Mohamedou Ould Slahi from Mauritania tells the story of how in 2001 he was detained by Mauritianian authorities, transferred to Jordan, then Afghanistan, then in 2002 to Guantanamo, Cuba, where he has remained since. It is very difficult to evalutate a book like this, both because
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the author has obious incentives to represent his story in a certain way, and because the other side does not go out with all they supposedly know. Show Less
LibraryThing member tommi180744
If an honest and factual account this is a devastating indictment of US Governments (particularly the appalling post 9/11 blood-lust, vengeance-seeking Bush administration), US Justice, US Military and the USA as a whole!
An astonishing account of what can only be described as 'brute force,
On the other side: The reader cannot be certain of various parts of the grievously ill-treated author's claims - that said, the man's innocence or guilt as a would-be terrorist/sympathiser is not grounds for any of the egregious torture whilst illegally incarcerated having never faced charges never mind a Legally constituted Court of Law - therefore the author must be given the benefit of the doubt.
Thus, Guantanamo Diary SHAMES the USA and Americans in general in a manner that reduces all its Constitution's high-flown allegiance to Democracy and the Rule of Law to nothing better than that once so vilely claimed and traduced by its former enemy, the USSR!
An astonishing account of what can only be described as 'brute force,
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ignorance and injustice' on the part of the USA!On the other side: The reader cannot be certain of various parts of the grievously ill-treated author's claims - that said, the man's innocence or guilt as a would-be terrorist/sympathiser is not grounds for any of the egregious torture whilst illegally incarcerated having never faced charges never mind a Legally constituted Court of Law - therefore the author must be given the benefit of the doubt.
Thus, Guantanamo Diary SHAMES the USA and Americans in general in a manner that reduces all its Constitution's high-flown allegiance to Democracy and the Rule of Law to nothing better than that once so vilely claimed and traduced by its former enemy, the USSR!
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LibraryThing member csoki637
Four stars for being well-written, engaging and absolutely horrifying, and an extra star for being written during imprisonment at Guantánamo. Mohamedou Ould Slahi builds a powerful narrative, all the more compelling because his story of extraordinary rendition, torture and deprivation is
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nonfiction. Despite the horrors he endures — the author is still, after 15 years since his initial arrest, locked up at Guantánamo, never formally charged with any crime — Slahi doesn't lose his mind, faith or empathy: an impressive feat. I hope many people read his story and realize the unparalleled sadism enacted by the U.S. government around the world. And that, after all the false promises, the administration finally shuts down the prison at Guantánamo, the prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, and the practice of torture. I won't keep my fingers crossed for that, but I do hope Slahi is done justice. Show Less
LibraryThing member greeniezona
I spent a lot of time processing this book, as it was very dark but yet not nearly as dark as I'd feared. After having followed some of the coverage of the big federal torture report, I was pretty familiar with what a lot of the possibilities were. The fact that I didn't find this book more
Of course, Slahi was also deliberately trying to not be salacious, to report just what happened to him, as accurately as he could. And his ability to find, and sometimes successfully connect to the humanity in his torturers also undercut the depravity of what was being done to him.
My overall impression after finishing this book, and reading several reviews and essays about the book, was to be impressed less by the cruelty of the CIA torture program, but more by its ineptitude. That they captured, held, and tortured a man all based on such tenuous evidence. That when they finally committed to full-blown torture, it resulted in nothing more helpful than a man prepared to confess to absolutely anything that they asked him to write down, which is almost exactly what he told them, and they seemed happy with that result. But the most ridiculous was the redaction of Slahi's manuscript, which was often laughable. Such as the oft-remarked case that all pronouns related to a guard/torturer were redacted only when that person was female. Or the number of times that what was redacted was easily reconstructed by its context, and the number of times those redactions were publicly-known facts.
If you want to bear witness to the cruelty of the CIA's torture program, read the torture report. If you want to be struck by how misguided it is, or be impressed by someone who could retain their full humanity in the face of it, read this book.
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shocking was disturbing to me.Of course, Slahi was also deliberately trying to not be salacious, to report just what happened to him, as accurately as he could. And his ability to find, and sometimes successfully connect to the humanity in his torturers also undercut the depravity of what was being done to him.
My overall impression after finishing this book, and reading several reviews and essays about the book, was to be impressed less by the cruelty of the CIA torture program, but more by its ineptitude. That they captured, held, and tortured a man all based on such tenuous evidence. That when they finally committed to full-blown torture, it resulted in nothing more helpful than a man prepared to confess to absolutely anything that they asked him to write down, which is almost exactly what he told them, and they seemed happy with that result. But the most ridiculous was the redaction of Slahi's manuscript, which was often laughable. Such as the oft-remarked case that all pronouns related to a guard/torturer were redacted only when that person was female. Or the number of times that what was redacted was easily reconstructed by its context, and the number of times those redactions were publicly-known facts.
If you want to bear witness to the cruelty of the CIA's torture program, read the torture report. If you want to be struck by how misguided it is, or be impressed by someone who could retain their full humanity in the face of it, read this book.
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LibraryThing member MontzaleeW
Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Larry Siems (Editor) is a very thought-provoking and disturbing book. This man was arrested and released in 2002. Arrested again and then held, although the government where he was arrested could not understand why he was arrested but they were doing it
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for the Americans. He was shipped to a couple of places until he arrived at Guantanamo. Never charged with anything, held from 2002 then was finally told he was to be released in 2009 by Judge Robertson but Obama's administration appealed it so he went back to the pit of forgotten souls. He kept a diary during his stay there and it is held by the government as "top secret" because they don't want their abusive ways known but of course we all know. With the freedom of information act, some redacted pages were released and published here. He describes what he went through, and he is still locked up. There was no convincing evidence at the arrest or at the trial or wrong doing but still he sits in a prison of horrors. Who is really the terrorist? Show Less
LibraryThing member sarahlh
It's a hard but necessary book to read. Contains descriptions of numerous forms of physical, sexual, emotional and psychological torture. Finishing it after having been reading it for so long kind of has me at a loss for words beyond why.
Awards
Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction (Longlist — 2015)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2015)
The Observer Book of the Year (Biography and Memoir — 2015)
Language
Original language
English