Easily Digestible GTMO Data

My former State Department colleagues, David Bowker of WilmerHale, and David Kaye who just recently moved to UCLA, published an Op-Ed in the NY Times this past weekend. For those of you (like me) who missed it initially, check out this sampling of their Harper’s Index-like spin on GTMO Facts in advance of the Court’s consideration of Boumediene v. Bush:

Number of “high-value detainees” now at Guantánamo: 15
Approximate percentage of detainees found to have committed “hostile acts” against the United States or coalition forces before detention: 53
Approximate number of countries of which detainees are citizens: 40
Cost of building Guantánamo high-security detention facilities: about $54 million
Estimated annual cost of operating Guantánamo: $90 million to $118 million
Cost of “expeditionary legal complex” for the military commission (under construction): $10 million to $12 million
Number of books in the Guantánamo detention library: 5,143
Number of Korans issued to detainees from January 2002 to June 2005: more than 1,600
Number of daily calories per detainee: Up to 4,200, including halal meat
Average weight gain per detainee: 20 pounds
Number of apparent suicides: 4
Number of apparent suicide attempts: 41, by 25 detainees (as of May 2006)
Number of detainee assaults on guards using “bodily fluids”: more than 400
Date of first visit to Guantánamo by the International Committee of the Red Cross: Jan. 18, 2002
Approximate number of visits by lawyers to Guantánamo detainees so far this year: 1,100
Number of habeas corpus petitions filed in federal courts on behalf of detainees: roughly 300
Number of detainees designated by the president as “eligible” for trial by military commission: 14
Number actually charged with crimes (for example, murder and material support for terrorism): 10
Number of pending cases: 3
Number of convictions: 1 (an Australian who pleaded guilty to material support of terrorism and was sentenced to nine months of confinement in his home country)
Estimated number of detainees who may be charged in the future: 80
Month of first release of a detainee: May 2002 (one detainee repatriated to Afghanistan because of an “emotional breakdown”)
Approximate number of detainees released: 445
Approximate number of current detainees found eligible for transfer or release: 70
Countries to which Guantánamo detainees have been transferred: Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, Yemen
Personal items provided to detainees upon departure: a Koran, a denim jacket, a white T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, high-top sneakers, a gym bag of toiletries and a pillow and blanket for the flight home
Number of detainees said by Pentagon to have resumed hostile activities against the United States after release: at least 30
Closest American allies that have called for Guantánamo’s closing: Britain, France, Germany