Wearing a Casio Enough to Become Terror Suspect

"Al-Qaida's Watch of Choice"
By Simone Utler
SPIEGEL.de
Apr. 26, 2011

They're cheap, easy to buy anywhere in the world and, apparently, are the hallmark of a terrorist: a digital Casio wristwatch -- strictly speaking, the black F-91W model or its silver variant, the A-159W. The United States military considers this watch to be "an indicator of al-Qaida training in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)" and with it the identifying feature of a potential terrorist.

This information is contained in the secret documents about prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay US military prison camp in Cuba, which have just been released by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks and SPIEGEL, along with other international media. The " Gitmo Files" comprise the records of 765 former and current Guantanamo prisoners. Thousands of pages labeled "secret" and "Noforn" ("Not releasable to foreign nationals") contain detailed information about the prisoners, their life in the military prison, the conduct of intelligence agencies and their treatment of the prisoners.

In one document, titled "Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants" -- a field guide of recognition and classification of "enemy combatants" -- various items are listed to help interrogators assess a prisoner's capabilities and intentions. With the aid of this 17-page catalog, the Joint Task Force responsible for operating the Guantanamo prison camp were expected to determine whether a suspect could be a possible terrorist threat, if he had the opportunity.

In the field guide, special attention is given to the items a suspect had in his possession at the time of his arrest. The Joint Task Force speaks of "suspicious items," including a satellite phone, military radio/transceiver, $100 bills and the Casio F-91W watch.

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