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crewsor · 05-05-2003, 05:06 PM

This has to make Dude happy.

U.S. to Free More Afghan War Prisoners From Guantánamo
By NEIL A. LEWIS

ASHINGTON, May 5 — Bush administration officials said today that they would soon release an additional group of prisoners, about a dozen, from the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Officials said that the prisoners, captured in the war in Afghanistan, had been determined to have no further intelligence value and that there was no evidence that they had been involved in any crimes.

The impending release comes after officials said that Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that he was hearing a rising number of complaints from other countries about the indefinite detention of their citizens at Guantánamo.

Those to be released will probably include one or more of the three youths the military recently acknowledged were being held at Guantánamo. The three are believed to be 13 to 16 years old, and the disclosure of their detention by an Australian television network produced a barrage of criticism from human rights groups.

The military has so far discharged about 22 prisoners from the prison at the American naval base in Cuba, first transferring them to the custody of the Afghan government, which then released them in Kabul.

State Department officials said that Mr. Powell had not so much pressed Mr. Rumsfeld to move quickly as to apprise him that the continued, indefinite detentions was causing diplomatic problems. Mr. Powell wrote at least two letters to Mr. Rumsfeld detailing what he had been hearing, officials said.

The prison camp, at the naval base in southeastern Cuba, currently holds about 660 detainees. Even as some are to be released, officials said, others will soon be brought before a military tribunal on the base.

The United States government has kept the Guantánamo prisoners in a political and legal limbo, by declaring they are not prisoners of war but unlawful combatants. As a result of that status, Pentagon officials have said they may lawfully detain them indefinitely.

www.nytimes.com/2003/05/05/international/americas/05CND-GITM.html?ex=....

05-05-2003, 05:06 PM	#134 (permalink)
crewsor Women want me. Men fear me. Location: Maryland,USA	This has to make Dude happy. U.S. to Free More Afghan War Prisoners From Guantánamo By NEIL A. LEWIS ASHINGTON, May 5 — Bush administration officials said today that they would soon release an additional group of prisoners, about a dozen, from the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Officials said that the prisoners, captured in the war in Afghanistan, had been determined to have no further intelligence value and that there was no evidence that they had been involved in any crimes. The impending release comes after officials said that Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that he was hearing a rising number of complaints from other countries about the indefinite detention of their citizens at Guantánamo. Those to be released will probably include one or more of the three youths the military recently acknowledged were being held at Guantánamo. The three are believed to be 13 to 16 years old, and the disclosure of their detention by an Australian television network produced a barrage of criticism from human rights groups. The military has so far discharged about 22 prisoners from the prison at the American naval base in Cuba, first transferring them to the custody of the Afghan government, which then released them in Kabul. State Department officials said that Mr. Powell had not so much pressed Mr. Rumsfeld to move quickly as to apprise him that the continued, indefinite detentions was causing diplomatic problems. Mr. Powell wrote at least two letters to Mr. Rumsfeld detailing what he had been hearing, officials said. The prison camp, at the naval base in southeastern Cuba, currently holds about 660 detainees. Even as some are to be released, officials said, others will soon be brought before a military tribunal on the base. The United States government has kept the Guantánamo prisoners in a political and legal limbo, by declaring they are not prisoners of war but unlawful combatants. As a result of that status, Pentagon officials have said they may lawfully detain them indefinitely. www.nytimes.com/2003/05/05/international/americas/05CND-GITM.html?ex=.... __________________ We all have wings, some of us just don't know why. Last edited by crewsor; 05-06-2003 at 12:56 PM..