This is where I am supposed to put in some sort of Irish saying, but, that would be entirely too easy and cutesy
Ireland’s agreement Wednesday to take two homeless Guantanamo prisoners demonstrates that patient diplomacy between the United States and Europe is starting to play its part in shutting down the notorious U.S. prison.
Daniel Fried, the Obama administration’s special envoy tasked with closing the camp, is back in Europe this week seeking to build on a European Union agreement clearing the way for any member of the 27-nation bloc to accept prisoners who could face persecution in their homelands..
While most European states remain frosty to the idea of taking Guantanamo prisoners off American hands, a growing number of nations — including Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Spain — say they definitely or probably will take at least one of the approximately 50 prisoners.
Notorious prison, eh? Notice that none of these countries will agree to take more than one or two? I wonder why that is?
Oh, and how about terrorist at the border stupid?
Four years ago, when the federal General Services Administration unveiled its plans for a new border-crossing station here in northeastern New York State, the design was presented as part of the agency’s campaign to raise the dismal standards of government architecture. Even many in the famously fractious architectural community celebrated the complex — particularly its main building, emblazoned with glossy yellow, 21-foot-high letters spelling “United States” — as a rare project the government could point to with pride…
Yet three weeks ago, less than a month after the station opened, workers began prying the big yellow letters off the building’s facade on orders from Customs and Border Protection. The plan is to dismantle the rest of the sign this week…
“There were security concerns,” said Kelly Ivahnenko, a spokeswoman for the customs agency. “The sign could be a huge target and attract undue attention. Anything that would place our officers at risk we need to avoid.”
Ssssh, don’t tell anyone they are coming into the United States. Be vewy vewy quiet. Like the terrorists wouldn’t know.
Say, maybe we should put signs up at the southern border saying welcome to Canada. That’d confuse the hell out of the illegals, eh?
Of course these are guys who have never been convicted of anything right ? And of course after the humane and respectful treatment that they have received I am sure that they will harbor no ill feelings
John, shut up.
I have a son, our only son, in prison here in the good old USA, and trust me, I’d LOVE to see him in Gitmo.
By all reports and standards, and from good information and my own experiences at our prisons, prisoners are far better treated in Gitmo than our citizens in the prisons that are right here on US soil.
And, to add insult to injury, all of the prisoners who CONVERT to Islam, of which the numbers are skyrocketing, get treated far better than our Catholic son is. Matter of fact, no other religion gets such special treatment but Islam.
Never convicted? Shut up again. Just because these are difficult to try, doesn’t mean that one single one of them is innocent. I cannot believe you take the side of fearless hateful terrorists, against our country and our troops.
To defend these people who would love nothing better than to kill Americans, is the limit for me. I will no longer take anything you say seriously.
Trish WHO are you to tell me to shut up ?? Trish 600 of the 850 that were in Gitmo were released, by Bush. I take the side of the Constitution of the United States of America that says that ALL are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Apparently YOU do not. Apparently you think that confessions obtained under torture are valid and just. Have you been able to visit YOUR son ? No mothers in Gitmo are allowed that privilege. How often do you get phone calls from your son ? Maybe you should spend your time trying to change the conditions that prisoners in the USA have, is your son in Federal custody or state ?
Oh boy, aren’t you the knowledgable one? I do in fact try every day to work on our prison system, right now he has a possibly broken hand from basketball injury, and they’ve given him aspirin, no xrays. He is in dual custody, scheduled to go straight fed in the next year. I bust my a** off trying to fix things here, but get hopping mad at those who worry so mcuh about terrorists in Gitmo, or want to intermingle them with our kids.
My son comitted a crime, wants to atone and deserves to do time, not as much as the feds gave him, but that’s one thing we’re working on. Meanwhile, he’s in the middle of my state, and I only get to visit him about ten times a year. It’s no joyride, and when he goes fed, he can be placed anywhere in the country. So, I feel sorry for our young men who get hooked on drugs, commit crimes and then actually have no family who care to visit them. More don’t receive visits than do. I don’t care about enemy combatants, and if some are released, then good for them. If not, they can stew as long as the young men in our country do. Sometimes for a lifetime.
So far Trish the vast majority of those who were detained at Gitmo for 6 years have a;ready been released, this was done under Bush. As far as them being “enemy combatants” I think that 99% have been found by our courts not to be deserving of that term since there were no legal due process to determine that.AS far as your son is concerned I also agree that most fedaerl terms are far too long, perhaps under a Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House we may finally see some changes. Changes that have been a loooong time coming. Did you notice the age of the last detainee who was released by court order ? He was 12 years old when he confessed under torture to Afghan police that it was he who threw a grenade at US troops. That confession was the only evidence against him.