Did the Pentagon Lie About Why it Barred Journalists from Guantanamo

The U.S. has barred journalists from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Three visiting reporters were forced off the island Wednesday under orders from the office of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. A Pentagon spokesperson said the removals were ordered following complaints from other media outlets they were being denied equal access.

But questions are being raised over whether the Pentagon was motivated by a different reason. Last week's Guantanamo suicides have only intensified international scrutiny of the US-run prison. The three banned reporters - from the Los Angeles Times, the Miami Herald and the Charlotte Observer - were the only journalists who were able to file reports on the suicides from Guantanamo.

* Carol Williams, one of the three reporters forced out of Guantanamo. She is Caribbean Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times. She wrote an article in Sunday's LA Times entitled "Kicked Out of Gitmo." She speaks to us from St. Kitts.
* David Rose, journalist who writes for the Observer of London and Vanity Fair. He is the author of several books, including "Guantanamo: America's War on Human Rights", which has just come out in paperback.

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