Q+A: Guantanamo guard: It's psychological warfare

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Guantanamo prison guard depicted in the National Geographic documentary "Explorer: Inside Guantanamo" attended an advance showing this week and spoke to Reuters afterward about her work in a maximum-security cellblock.

The Army military police corporal is identified by the pseudonym Jane Smith, as required by the conditions under which National Geographic was allowed to film inside the prison for three weeks in August 2008.

Q - Where are you from? A - "Originally, New Mexico"

Q - What are you doing now? A - "I'm unemployed. I got out in January. I'm learning to be a civilian."

Q - The film shows guards talking about daily battle plans and it refers to the prison as a battlefield. Is that how you view it? A - "We are there to support the battle operations that are happening in Afghanistan. It is very much the detainees telling us how wrong we are, how bad we are. And they very much make it a battleground.

It's a contest of wills. It very much is psychological warfare. It becomes, not so much us versus them, but at the same time you never want to turn your back toward them. If you did, it would end up coming back at you."

It's like they said, the military considers it a front -- the complete title of Joint Task Guantanamo is, In Support of Operation Enduring Freedom."

Q - The film showed you and the other guards dealing with outbursts, taunting and disturbances by individual inmates and groups. Was that common?

A - "It was like that almost every day. I myself have been covered in feces from head to toe. I got it in my mouth. I swallowed it. I walked away. That's what we do."

Q - Have you sought any counseling.? A - "I haven't had time. I've also been told (by acquaintances and fellow soldiers) 'You can't have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) because you weren't in Iraq or Afghanistan.'"

Q - Were you able to form individual opinions of the inmates, judge whether they are a terrorist or not? A - "Some of them were nicer than others. But I don't want to say I formed an opinion one way or another. Like I said, I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I can throw them.

You saw me laughing on the film with ... one. He can be quite a (difficult) knucklehead, while he can be quite funny at the same time. It's that matter of trying to build that rapport. Yes, they hated me, but at the same time they knew that if they needed something or if they deserved it, I would get it for them or I would try my best to get it for them."

Q - What would you think if an inmate were released in the United States and you encountered one on the street? A - "I would probably flip out, I'm not going to lie. The reason I used a fake name is because I received death threats. They threatened to find me and my family, they threatened to slit my throat. I would not take very kindly to it. I might want to run the other way."

Q - The film depicts you as growing apart from your sister, who opposed the Guantanamo prison. How are things now? A - "She just wanted her baby sister back. She's looking into resources to help me."

Q - The film also shows you wiping your eye as you say you are trying to serve your country but some people don't understand it. How do you feel about your service. A - "I'm proud of what I've done. I thought I was going to be part of something bigger, and I don't feel like I am." (Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen, editing by Philip Barbara)