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 Visit offers glimpse into GuantanamoBy Don Shepperd Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news. Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd is a CNN military analyst.  Retired Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSGUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (CNN) -- It was a quick trip, down and back; seven hours in a military jet, plus all day at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center -- 10 media military analysts, defense writers and think-tankers receiving briefings, visiting assigned personnel and watching interrogations. The trip was put together in response to recent press reports of prisoner abuse at Gitmo. The Defense Department considers the criticism grossly unfair and mostly written by people who have never visited the "new" Camp Delta, which three years ago replaced Camp X-Ray. One must understand something basic about Gitmo: In the middle of war, it isn't meant to replicate the U.S. justice system. Detained enemy combatants appear before a Combatant Status Review Tribunal, which sends detainees to Guantanamo only if there is real reason to believe they have important ties to the Taliban or al Qaeda. Each detainee has a hearing before an administrative review board at least once a year that recommends continued detention, release or transfer -- usually back to the country of origin. Approximately 70,000 enemy combatants have been captured in the global war on terror. The vast majority have been released. About 800 have been sent to Gitmo with 235 set free, or transferred. An additional 61 await release. Gitmo is about keeping "the worst of the worst" off the battlefield until this war is over, collecting intelligence and subjecting criminal suspects to military commissions or "tribunals." In a tribunal, the accused has access to legal representation. Detainees are not held incommunicado -- they are registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross and can send and receive mail -- or without rights. One may disagree with the adequacy, but there is a system designed to protect individual rights. One federal court agrees it's adequate, another disagrees. This is under review. Guantanamo resembles a modern U.S. prison. Detainees get three meals daily. I ate a vegetarian meal consisting of garbanzos, corn, potatoes and pita bread. There is access to exercise areas and good medical care. Interestingly, despite health problems and war wounds, no detainee has died at Gitmo. We observed four interrogations of "high-value targets" -- the really bad guys. We talked with interrogators who said mistreatment doesn't work and that only building good rapport with detainees garners useful information. A classified briefing showed us intelligence information obtained on worldwide al Qaeda operations. Even after two or three years of internment, detainees still provide useful information. Guards were a mixture of military police from all services. They're young kids, serious about their jobs and proud of what they were doing. Early allegations of mistreatment at Guantanamo and elsewhere were investigated, some substantiated and the guilty punished. We saw no evidence of mistreatment, nor would one expect to on a planned visit. We didn't talk to detainees, rules prevent it, but the Red Cross does. They have unfettered access. Did we drink the government "Kool-Aid?" I don't know. But when in doubt, I try to rely on common sense and my experience of almost 40 years in the military. What I saw made sense: good, sincere, dedicated people doing what I would do in a tough situation. I am comforted. Keep it open. Keep a close watch on it. Guantanamo isn't a "Club Med," but it certainly isn't a "gulag." 
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