Keeping a Close Watch on the Enemy

I've been fairly conservative (certainly by New York standards, anyway) in my take on the current war and the events that preceded it, despite the same increasing displeasure with its orchestration that most of the country has been experiencing for some time, but this is ridiculous: The military is claiming that Casio watches on Guantanamo Bay detainees are evidence of terrorist ties.

The reason?

Casios have been used repeatedly in bombs, after all, including one used by the architect of the 1993 World Trade Center attack; the explosive device was set off on a Philippine Airlines flight, killing a passenger.

But as the piece goes on to note:

...there's nothing unique about their use in time bombs. In fact, many household items with timing functions, including such devices as microwave oven timers, can be modified to set off bombs, said David Williams, a retired FBI agent who worked on the first World Trade Center bombing investigation.

Also, detainees with fingers are being monitored closely, as fingers can be used to set timing devices.

In demanding that detainees defend their wristwear, though, we may have inadvertently created some successful ad-copy guys:

"I have a Casio watch due to the fact that they are inexpensive and they last a long time," the 34-year-old detainee told a tribunal. "I like my watch because it is durable. It had a calculator and was waterproof, and before prayers we have to wash up all the way to my elbows."