Froot Loops For Camp X-Ray

By Tim Padgett

Even if they're still being held in cells that look like chain-link dog kennels, the Taliban and al-Qaeda captives at Guantanamo Bay can't complain about the menu. Last week the (so far) 158 detainees at Camp X-Ray started eating a halal diet (religiously correct Islamic meals, featuring foods like pita bread, fruit and Asian spices) as well as what has quickly become their favorite breakfast: Froot Loops, which they scarf from snack packs like American teenagers.

On balance, the brass at "Gitmo" are confident that they have stanched the criticism of human-rights groups, which were howling about the captives' treatment. The prisoners have been given Korans, and are visited daily by a U.S. Navy Muslim cleric, who calls them to their prayers. A few miles away, they get top-flight medical attention at a new, state-of-the-art MASH unit. They have even started growing their beards again.

Marine Brigadier General Michael Lehnert, Camp X-Ray's warden, warns that "leaders are beginning to emerge" among the prisoners who might try to organize a jailhouse revolt. He suspects they may have begun exchanging covert messages written with rocks on the concrete floors of their cells. "We can identify tendencies," said Lehnert, as interrogations began in earnest.

--By Tim Padgett