Gitmo Detainees go on Hunger Strike

Some detainees at Gitmo have vowed to starve themselves unless they are released or brought to trial. Lawyers for the Justice Department and the detainees are arguing in the Federal District Court whether those detainees should have access to relatives by phone or in person. The Justice Department says no of course, citing security concerns and-amazingly-a lack of resources:

Terry Henry, a lawyer for the Justice Department, told Judge Gladys Kessler of Federal District Court that one relative had tried to send a detainee a DVD that named various people who had died or were in jail, raising concerns about whether some kind of message was being sent. The disk was not cleared and not delivered to the detainee. "There are all kinds of security issues there," Mr. Henry said.

He also suggested that the government lacked the resources to monitor detainees' telephone calls.

Is he serious? I think if I were the judge I might be a little dismissive of the claim that the federal government, with the power to build a prison camp in what is territory surrounded by a hostile nation, lacks the resources to monitor detainees' phone calls. Last time I checked that was as easily as picking up another phone connected to the same line. And it seems to me any security concerns can be alleviated by monitoring those calls; I have serious doubts that any of the detainees will manage to give out instructions on how to commit a deadly terrorist attack or arrange a daring rescue of themselves. Of course the real purpose to all this is to keep them isolated. Why? Because the government can. Need there be any other reason?