That'll teach'em

Can anyone explain the theory of the hunger strike to me? The AP is reporting that a hunger strike among Gitmo prisoners that started with 3 and climbed to 89 is now back down to 18. "It appears that right after that peak (of 89) then people started resuming eating again," Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand told The Associated Press. It seems to me that a decrease in numbers during a hunger strike is the natural progression. The suspected Al-Qaida detainees are trying to use the tactic to force the military to release them. The military has said it will not release prisoners that have vowed to harm Americans if freed. Apparently the hunger strike technique is "consistent with Al-Qaida practice." Several of the inmates have been force fed via tubes inserted through the nose. Now Physicians for Human Rights have called on the United States to halt the "brutal and inhumane force-feeding tactics." Again, the US can't win either way. Hunger strikes against most countries would likely back-fire badly and ease the burden on the prison as they would have to provide less food and have fewer inmates to control. This attempted "suicide attack" is most certainly reserved for countries more concerned with the welfare of criminals than the plight of it's innocent citizens.