Saturday, July 01, 2006

Guantanamo profile

Here is an older link (2004) with great graphics illustrating the diversity of the "detainee" population held at the Guantanamo facility.
The census was at 650 at the time of this link, and is now down to about 450. We have been sending them away a few at a time, you know.

I was suprised to learn that some thirty-six countries were represented...

This little factoid is part of a larger post at Coming Anarchy focusing on Chinese Uyghurs that were brought there, now cleared of charges.

The eighteen detainees who actually engaged in Al Qaeda training remain at GITMO. However, five Uyghurs believed to have only sought out the “Uyghur Al Qaeda camp” near Tora-Bora to wait for a visa to Iran en route to political asylum in Turkey, have been cleared of charges. This happened last year, but they initially had no where to go. They originally wanted to go to Iran or Turkey, but that was politically impossible. China demands them back, but returning them would make their time at GITMO look like Sunday school. Some Uyghur interest groups wanted them to stay in the US: “because it is the only country that can stand up to the enormous Chinese pressure.” (The US refused asylum, parole, or even freedom while they were in US territory.)

And you thought YOU had problems! What would you do with these guys if you were George Bush?
Guest workers, maybe?

Want to look a bit further? Do a search for children at Guantanamo and see what comes up. Makes you proud to be an American this weekend, no?

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