U.S. calls Guantanamo hunger strikes 'non-religious fasting'

By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New Guantanamo Bay U.S. prison guidelines describe hunger striking detainees as undergoing “long term non-religious fasting,” a copy of the document obtained by Reuters shows. Two U.S. military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday the change in terminology helps differentiate between detainees with medical conditions caused by malnourishment, and political protesters who were at or above their ideal bodyweight. The change follows headline-grabbing hunger strikes by detainees last year which drew renewed attention to President Barack Obama’s frustrated efforts to shutter the facility on a U.S. military base in Cuba. The previous guidelines mentioned “hunger strikes” frequently, but the new ones totally exclude the term and only makes one passing reference to the word “hunger.” “It’s not our job to feed into their political protests.