(7:59pm) Stacy: Yea, being in DC and the Maryland/Virginia area you see many young people coming home or being shipped out. Its tough to see it when you are on the metro heading to your day job. Puts things in perspective.

(7:58pm) Greg: You know i can't get over this feeling that there is a significant proportion of our military that are 18-19 years old. They are fresh out of high school and trying to figure out what they want to do in life. It makes me pretty thankful that these young men and women are out there. You may agree with the policies or disagree with the policies they are asked to do but these men and women are looking to serve their country for the greater good of the US and the rest of the world.

(8:05pm) Greg: Can you believe that 9/11 was seven and a half years ago? Whenever I see that footage I instantly think where I was and what I was doing. The amazing thing for me to think about was this collective "OH MY GOD" heard around the world that morning. I think moreso than what we appreciate, the rest of the world realized felt the pain that all of us felt that day. Really sad to think about what has happened from that day on.

(8:08pm) Stacy: I think after that we were all in no-man's-land. We all needed to cope and deal with this atrocious act of violence. Things were going to change no matter what. We all now need to realize the commonality of why we are all here on Earth and accept the differences we all have and move on. Thats my little pie in the sky dream.

(8:12pm) Greg: Non-Enemy Combatant. Three words that will go down in history as the keys that opened Guantanamo.

(8:20pm) Stacy: One former detainee mentions that mental torture is much worse than physical torture. I think the soldiers must have similar feelings in very different ways. Their jobs take a lot of mental strength to be a soldier stationed at Guantanamo. I was somewhat surprised to hear that the new soldiers are taught to be firm and impartial in their duties.

(8:26pm) Greg: I think you bring up a good point. I think one of the biggest things that we will realize, and I think appreciate in the long run, is how strong and stable our judicial system here in the US is. Are there unfair laws? Absolutely. Are there reforms that need to be made? Probably. But the Supreme Court case in 2004 and the ones that followed showed that no single US President or its administration are above the human rights of others, even captured militants. Is the process long and arduious? No doubt. But thats what's America is all about. A forever producing nation of laws and reform to better society.

(8:42pm) Greg: The film just profiled a number of detainees that were released from the prision over the past three years. Just some heartbreaking tales. Some were captured due to similar names and others were captured on faulty intelligence. This part is bookend with a tale of a detainee that should not have been released and ended up causing violence back in Yemen and in Kabul. The lesson? Nothing is clean with this closing and we should probably be ready to see some headlines that frankly we aren't ready to see. Geez....this is going to be tough.

(8:51pm) Stacy: Some of the interactions in this documentary between the soldiers and the detainees are friendly; even jovial. It's an interesting contrast to some of the other interactions documented.

(8:59pm) Greg: Wow..Chris Wallace begins with a tough question already. "Was there torture at Guantanamo Bay?" General Woolfork responds "No". He goes on to say that he was there and that he and his fellow soilders did their duties honorably. Alberto Mora somewhat disagrees with that and that there are investigations going on about a certain detainee case in 2002. A bit of shock to begin the panel...

(8:59pm) Greg: Quite the panel. Just a reminder we'll be uploading the entire panel video for you all in the next day or so. We'll post a link as soon as we can.

(9:05pm) Stacy: Sarah Havens, attorney to a number of Yemeni detainees, answers this question by stating it's more than just Guantanamo, but also includes war on terror prisons in countries like Afghanistan that housed many detainees before they got to Guantanamo. Sarah believes their treatment there was worse. You can learn more about some other war on terror prisons on the Inside Guantanamo website.

(9:12pm) Greg: Chris Wallace hits the nail on the head when he hears both sides and says that there are dual realities existing in this debate. The reality that there was torture and the reality that everything was by the book. There is so much pressure on all of these panelists in their everyday lives that I'm pretty sure no one will be budging from their stances.

(9:18pm) Stacy: General Woolfork in continuing this 'was there torture' debate, explains some of the processes for new detainees arriving at Guantanamo. Getting a physical examination includes having a dentist look at their teeth. He argues some detainees would say this is torture because many had never been to a dentist. As a side, Guantanamo has better healthcare than me.

(9:24pm) Greg: Significant discussion about the number of innocent detainees being held. While no one disagrees that there are some terrible people being held at Guantanamo, the real debate is how many innocent are there. Attorney Havens mentions that if you look at the detainees that have been released and their country of orgin, there is a far greater number of detainees released from countries with a "good standing" with the US (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia) and a European passport than with those detainees who come from countries with a bad standing. She sites the count of Yeman detainees. If anyone has stats on this I would love to see them.

(9:31pm) Stacy: One question brought up: how do you feel about Guantanamo detainees being released in the United States? Greg - what do you think?

(9:34pm) Greg: Wow. Thats a doozy. Glad I'm not on the panel. I think that this is a tough question to answer. I think that the justice system needs to flex its muscle and work. I realize many would be uncomfortable, but if the US justice system finds people innocent then they need to release them. Its a slippery slope we begin to walk down if we hold people out of fear. What did Ben Franklin say.."They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." I think I am in line with that. Respect the system and it will work, if not we will be tied up in a mess worse than we can imagine. Its so tough and such a hard pill to swallow, but we are America.  We get through whatever the world throws at us and come out stronger at the end.  You know I think we tend to forget that sometimes we are in the tunnel looking for a guiding light, but when we get out of that tunnel we find that we are that light.  I know its gushy, but sue me, its late.

(9:42pm) Stacy: What can I say, I like the tough questions. Hm, but I guess this means I need to answer it too. I'm not going to lie, the idea of having Guantanamo detainees makes me uncomfortable, but as you mention Greg, if you don't trust the system, it's not going to work. I agree with that and think I just need to get over the 'uncomfortable' part. How can we tell other countries, please take this detainee because we don't want them in the US? (9:53pm) Stacy & Greg: The panel is over now and Greg and I will be posting videos from some of the attendees tomorrow. See you tomorrow!