The secret file on detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who lived in Germany for years, exemplifies the failure of the Guantanamo system. His confession to being a member of al-Qaida was obtained under torture, and other evidence in the file is also worthless.

The 12-page document stems from March 2008. Anyone who reads it is left with the impression that the prisoner that the report describes is a major player in international terrorism.