PUBLISHED (but edited) in the LA Times, 6/13/06
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-tuesday13jun13,0,2621794.story

re "Guantanamo's First Suicides Pressure U.S." (LA Times, 6/11/06)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gitmo11jun11,0,2161893.story?

To the Editor:

The suicides of three Islamic radicals is unlikely to cause any important additional pressure on the US to close the prison. Most Americans, and likely most citizens and governments of non-Muslim countries, are more likely to feel neutral or even glad that these three men are dead than to think that the US is somehow responsible for their deaths.

The Commander at Guantanamo is correct that these jihadists killed themselves in the hope of embarrassing their captors and inciting acts of violence against US interests and people, either at Guantanamo or elsewhere. Their goals are most unlikely to be met.

Unfortunately, the US military is pandering to Muslims and human rights groups by emphasizing being “culturally sensitive” in how they treat the bodies. Such behavior can only further encourage Islamic radicals to risk their lives to hurt us. I say bury them with a pork chop.